Rose  Lambert 


c 


Division 

Section 


DSI^S 

,LZZ 


Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian 
Massacres 


MISS  ROSE  LAMBERT 


Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian 

Massacres 


For  nearly  twelve  years  a  Missionary  of  the  United 
Orphanage  and  Mission  Society  stationed 
at  Hadjin ,  Turkey 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1911,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


•  New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  80  Wabash  Avenue 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:  100  Princes  Street 


To  the  Memory  of  the  Christian 
martyrs  and  to  the  suffering 
mothers ,  sisters ,  widows  and  or - 
phans  this  little  book  is  dedicated 


Preface 


"y  O  attempt  has  been  made  in  this 
little  book  to  do  more  than  sketch 
lightly  those  events  connected  with 
the  recent  massacres  of  which  the  writer  had 
personal  experience.  All  questions  relating 
to  the  political  significance  of  these  events 
and  the  new  movement  and  developments  in 
Turkey  we  have  had  to  pass  by.  Requests 
have  been  so  numerous,  however,  that  in  be¬ 
half  of  the  Armenian  people  it  has  seemed 
best  to  accede  to  them,  and  record  in  this 
form  something  of  the  events  of  those  days. 
The  many  whys  and  wherefores  of  the  mas¬ 
sacres  we  do  not  undertake  to  discuss,  but 
for  the  sake  of  the  orphans  and  widows — 
made  such  in  those  awful  days — and  in  the 
hopes  that  more  knowledge  of  them  and 
what  they  endured  may  result  in  an  awakened 
interest,  which  will  in  turn  make  the  access 
of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  to  them  wider 
and  more  prompt,  this  story  has  been  told. 


R.  L. 


Elkhart t  Ind. 


Translation  of  the  letter  received  from  the 
Patriarch  at  Constantinople 

To  the  Noble  Miss  Rose  Lambert ,  salaams 

( vochtchun )  and  blessings  ; 

Through  Nerces,  the  Prelate,  I  was  in¬ 
formed  of  how  you  hastened  to  help  and  re¬ 
lieve  the  many  who  were  in  need  of  help  and 
comfort  during  those  wild,  savage  massacre 
days,  and  this  gives  me  infinite  comfort. 

You  helped  in  such  a  way  as  to  endanger 
your  own  life,  and  by  so  doing  have  com¬ 
forted  thousands  of  the  unfortunate  ones 
during  their  bitter  and  hard  affliction. 

We  feel  obliged  to  express  to  you  our 
hearty  thanks  and  gratitude  for  your  intrepid 
labors  and  philanthropic  willingness. 

Your  name  and  nobility  will  ever  remain 
unforgotten  in  our  annals. 

My  prayer  is  that  the  Lord  will  make  you 
and  your  home  happy  with  endless  blessings 
so  that  you  may  continue  to  help  the  poor 
and  suffering. 

I  remain  with  prayers  for  you, 

(Signed)  Elisha  B.  Tourian, 

Patriarch  of  Constantinople . 


Introduction 

AS  treasurer  of  the  Board  under  which 
Miss  Rose  Lambert  has  devoted 
many  years  to  the  Armenian  people 
located  at  Hadjin,  Turkey  ;  as  one  of  the 
first  Americans,  apart  from  the  missionaries, 
to  visit  Hadjin ;  having  personally  seen  these 
poor  people,  so  hated  by  the  non- Christians 
of  Turkey,  and  being  personally  acquainted 
with  the  author,  I  can  but  appreciate  and 
commend  her  zeal  both  in  Turkey  and  at 
home,  and  her  moving  descriptions  of  that 
period  of  severe  trial.  Our  sister  proved  her¬ 
self  a  hero  during  the  late  massacre.  The 
Armenians  look  to  Miss  Lambert  as  a  mother 
and  even  the  Turks  think  highly  of  her.  This 
book  should  prove  of  the  deepest  interest, 
being  written  by  one  who  was  on  the  ground 
and  in  a  peculiar  position  to  see  and  know 
the  terrible  details  of  those  days  of  horror. 
Read  this  book  and  you  will  remember  it. 
Miss  Lambert  gave  her  early  womanly  years 
for  Armenia  regardless  of  the  tax  upon  her 
health.  She  evidently  has  but  one  end  in 
view,  the  arousing  of  the  Church  and  the 

9 


io 


Introduction 


American  public  to  benevolent  activity  in 
behalf  of  these  poor  orphans,  widows  and 
afflicted.  We  hope  the  reader  will  catch  her 
spirit. 

Yours  for  God  and  Armenia, 

O.  B.  Snyder. 


Contents 


I.  Inland  Trip . 13 

II.  Hadjin . 24 

III.  Liberty  Proclaimed  ...  28 

IV.  Increased  Alarm  ....  33 

V.  Approaching  Doom  ...  42 

VI.  Results  of  the  Massacre  .  .  86 

VII.  Death  of  Henry  Maurer  and  D.  M. 

Rogers . 99 


Illustrations 


PAGE 

Miss  Rose  Lambert  .....  Frontispiece 

Genjo,  our  Turkish  guard  .  .  .  .15 

First  view  of  Hadjin  from  southwest.  1.  Govern¬ 
ment  Building  and  Telegraph  Office  .  .  24 

Hadjin  from  the  east  .  .  .  .  .39 

Miss  Tschumi  and  a  few  of  our  Armenian  orphan 

girls  .......  50 

The  Missionary  Graveyard.  1.  Adeline  Brunk’s 
grave.  2.  Mrs.  Maurer’s  grave.  Miss 
Tschumi,  Miss  Plonk,  Rev.  Maurer,  Rose 
Lambert,  Rev.  Lambert  .  .  .  .  55 

Vartavar  Agha,  the  telegram  bearer  during  the 

massacre  .....  64 

Map  of  Asia  Minor  .  .  .  .  .  .72 

Hadjin  from  southeast.  1.  Boys’  Orphanage. 

2.  Girls’  Orphanage  .  .  .  .  *75 

Lutfi  Bey  and  a  few  of  his  soldiers  who  came  to 

our  rescue  .  .  .  .  .  .79 

Armenian  widow  with  her  children  ...  86 

The  remains  of  a  kahn  after  the  massacre  .  .  89 

Isabelle,  going  from  house  to  house  with  the  Gospel  96 

Rev.  and  Mrs.  Henry  Maurer  ....  99 

Adana  after  the  massacre  .  .  .  .  .102 

Our  Missionaries,  Miss  Nelson,  Rev.  Barker,  Miss 
N.  Lambert,  Rev.  D.  C.  Eby,  Miss  A.  Bow¬ 
man,  Miss  D.  Bowman,  Mrs.  Barker,  Mrs. 

D.  C.  Eby,  Miss  Tschumi,  Baby  Evangeline 
ahd  Ruth  Barker,  Miss  Bredemus  .  .  105 


Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian 

Massacres 


i 


Inland  Trip 


THE  seaport  of  Mersin  appears  to  a 
new  arrival  one  mass  of  filth  and 
perplexing  contradictions.  One 
walks  through  the  middle  of  streets  crowded 
with  porters  carrying  huge  boxes  and  bundles 
on  their  backs,  caravans  of  camels,  laden  or 
kneeling,  awaiting  their  burdens,  shop  goods 
displayed  outside  of  doors,  peddlers  of  all 
kinds,  beggars,  blind  or  crippled,  praying 
God’s  blessings  upon  you  if  you  have  mercy 
on  them.  Now  carriages  with  the  drivers 
shouting  to  the  mass  of  Armenians,  Turks, 
Bedouins,  Kurds,  Greeks,  Jews  and  the  few 
foreigners,  all  in  their  native  costumes,  to 
make  way.  We  at  once  see  that  the  occupant 
of  the  carriage  is  a  consul  or  Turkish  officer. 

But  it  is  astonishing  to  note  how  favorably 
one  is  impressed  with  this  same  little  town 
after  living  in  the  interior  of  the  country  for 
a  few  years,  for  Mersin  then  seems  trans- 

13 


14  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

formed,  for  we  judge  everything  by  com¬ 
parison. 

Here  we  board  the  train,  passing  through 
Tarsus,  the  home  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  and 
arrive  at  Adana,  the  terminus  of  the  railroad. 

Here  arrangements  are  made  for  the  in¬ 
land  journey.  Our  own  caravan  was  com¬ 
posed  of  a  Turkish  guard,  the  mounted  mis¬ 
sionaries,  and  as  many  pack  animals  as  the 
loads  required.  The  kitchen  utensils,  dishes 
and  provisions  are  packed  in  a  box,  the 
travelling  beds  and  bedding,  trunks  and 
valises  are  balanced  on  each  side  of  the 
packhorse,  and  the  cook  mounts  the  smallest 
load  which  includes  the  food  box. 

The  muleteers  walk  all  day  long,  amused 
at  us  for  thinking  that  they  must  be  tired. 

If  all  has  gone  well  and  we  have  started  no 
more  than  an  hour  later  than  we  had 
planned,  we  form  a  very  happy  party. 

For  two  days  we  travel  over  the  vast 
Adana  plain,  but  several  hours  takes  us  be¬ 
yond  the  vineyards,  cotton  fields,  lemon, 
orange  and  olive  orchards  and  the  day 
laborers  at  work  on  every  hand.  We  hear 
the  jingling  of  the  bells  as  the  large  caravans 
of  donkeys,  horses  and  camels  heavily  laden 
with  cotton,  wheat,  and  all  the  produce  of  the 
interior,  meet,  or  follow  us. 


GENJO  OUR  TURKISH  GUARD 


*5 


Inland  Trip 

The  country  now  becomes  more  rolling, 
and  the  fields  uncultivated  but  covered  with 
shrubs  and  small  trees. 

The  Turkish  guard  insists  that  the  caravan 
remain  together  and  he  is  on  the  alert,  for  he 
tells  us  that  this  part  of  the  country  is  infested 
with  robbers.  As  we  ride  along  we  hear  an 
unusual  sound  in  the  thicket  and  then  see  a 
heavily  armed  horseman  riding  towards  us. 
As  this  suspicious  character  approaches  we 
recognize  his  costume  and  see  that  he  belongs 
to  the  class  of  Mohammedans  who  are  often 
farmers  during  the  day — robbers  at  night. 
But  he  now  sees  our  Turkish  guard  and 
knows  that  some  explanation  must  be  given. 
After  exchanging  salutations  and  a  few 
casual  remarks,  the  stranger  assures  us  that 
a  camel  of  his  has  strayed  and  that  he  is 
searching  for  the  lost  animal,  and  again  dis¬ 
appears  into  the  thicket. 

In  this  region  we  meet  only  an  occasional 
traveller  or  caravan,  and  after  six  hours  of  travel 
arrive  at  Khan  Derese,  a  soldiers'  station. 

This  little  building  is  rather  dilapidated 
now,  but  the  government  constantly  has  two 
soldiers  stationed  here  to  protect  travellers 
through  this  section  of  the  country. 

This  station  is  situated  in  the  wilderness, 
and  the  howling  of  the  jackals  is  heard  in 


i6  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

the  distance,  while  a  visit  by  the  wild  hogs 
at  night  is  not  unusual. 

The  first  floor  is  used  for  a  stable  where 
the  horses  and  loads  are  kept.  Half  of  the 
second  floor  is  used  for  a  verandah,  the  re¬ 
mainder  being  divided  into  two  rooms.  The 
smaller  room  is  for  storage  as  well  as  for 
barley  and  chaff  for  the  soldiers’  horses. 
Government  officials,  soldiers,  reserves,  mail- 
carriers  and  occasional  guests  are  all  enter¬ 
tained  in  the  large  room  occupied  by  the  two 
resident  soldiers. 

Although  this  is  not,  properly  speaking,  a 
regular  khan  (inn)  the  soldiers  are  hospitable 
enough  to  American  travellers  to  share  their 
quarters  ;  as  they  know  ladies  want  privacy, 
the  straw  is  pushed  a  little  farther  into  one 
corner  of  the  small  room,  the  barley  into  an¬ 
other,  and  we  proceed  to  prepare  our  even¬ 
ing  meal  and  to  put  up  our  cots  there.  The 
beds  are  made  as  carefully  as  possible,  for  the 
chaff  is  thickly  populated  with  the  contempt¬ 
ible  little  flea,  an  insect  always  in  evidence  ; 
at  best  the  bed  is  rather  crowded  before  morn¬ 
ing. 

Usually,  no  matter  how  fatigued  one  may 
be,  when  the  muleteers  begin  to  curry  their 
horses  with  their  rattling  currycombs  at  two 
or  three  o’clock  in  the  morning,  one  is  glad 


Inland  Trip  17 

to  vacate  in  favor  of  the  little  intruders  and 
prepare  for  another  day’s  journey. 

Two  hours  generally  pass  before  breakfast 
is  over,  the  dishes  washed,  the  food  box 
packed,  the  cots  and  bedding  put  into  their 
respective  sacks  and  the  horses  saddled. 

Yet  we  are  always  grateful  for  these  ac¬ 
commodations  for  there  is  only  one  other 
place  where  travellers  can  spend  the  night. 

In  order  to  reach  this  second  lodging  we 
travel  three  hours  farther.  We  leave  the 
main  road  and  after  riding  about  half  an  hour 
cross  what  appears  to  have  been  at  some  time 
a  river  bed  and  then  through  a  Moham¬ 
medan  graveyard.  As  we  approach  huge 
and  ferocious  dogs  begin  to  bark  until  all  the 
dogs  in  the  village  unite  their  efforts  in  at¬ 
tempting  to  forbid  trespassing  and  at  times 
leap  up  at  one.  If  the  Turkish  guard  did 
not  interfere  and  call  the  villagers  to  control 
their  dogs  they  would  drag  the  traveller  from 
his  horse. 

As  we  meet  the  villagers  and  see  their  sav¬ 
age  looks  it  surely  seems  that  man  and  ani¬ 
mal  are  partaking  of  each  other’s  nature. 

Here  is  a  dark,  filthy  little  khan.  We  ride 
into  the  enclosure  and  the  doors  are  closed 
behind  us.  The  dogs  are  shut  out  and  we 
heave  a  sigh  of  relief  as  the  khan  keeper 


i8  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

greets  us  and  we  see  he  is  an  Armenian.  He 
tells  us  there  are  also  a  number  of  Armenian 
tradesmen  in  the  village. 

Here  one  little  corner  is  reserved  as  a  guest¬ 
room  and  although  other  travellers  and  our 
soldiers  each  watch  this  coveted  spot  with  an 
envious  eye,  it  is  given  to  the  missionaries. 

But  alas !  the  keeper  has  but  one  lamp  and 
the  chimney  is  broken.  The  nearest  store  is 
six  hours’  distant. 

We  search  for  a  candle  in  the  bottom  of 
our  food  box  ;  but  soon  our  host  returns  with 
a  lamp-chimney  telling  us  that  the  ruler  of  the 
town  also  has  a  lamp  and  has  loaned  us  the 
chimney  for  the  evening  as  a  special  favor. 

As  we  ride  away  in  the  morning  we  are 
happy  to  bid  good-bye  to  Sigetchet,  hoping 
that  we  need  never  stop  there  again. 

Armenians  who  are  travelling  must  put  up 
at  this  place  and  not  at  Khan  Derese,  neither 
are  they  accompanied  by  a  Turkish  guard ; 
so  as  long  as  Khan  Derese  extends  its  hos¬ 
pitality  we  gratefully  accept  it  in  preference 
to  the  other. 

Leaving  Khan  Derese  we  continue  our 
journey  over  the  rolling  country  and  we  see 
the  remains  of  an  old  castle  on  the  mountain 
in  the  distance.  That  is  where  we  hope  to  be 
nine  hours  later  if  we  make  good  time. 


*9 


Inland  Trip 

Three  hours’  journey  brings  us  to  a  num¬ 
ber  of  large  shade  trees  where  we  dismount 
for  lunch  in  the  shade. 

The  fields  about  us  again  show  signs  of 
cultivation  and  as  we  approach  Sis  we  meet 
many  at  work  in  them,  gathering  oranges 
and  hauling  their  drinking  water  from  the 
river  in  tin  cans.  These  are  placed  in  wooden 
frames  and  put  on  the  donkeys’  backs.  Many 
of  the  day  laborers  live  in  the  mountains  but 
come  to  the  fertile  plain  to  find  work. 

If  possible  we  always  arrange,  in  travelling, 
to  spend  the  Sunday  here,  as  the  church  and 
native  pastor  and  his  family  are  always  glad 
to  welcome  missionaries  and  have  them  take 
charge  of  the  services.  Besides,  we  are  glad 
to  have  a  day  of  rest. 

Early  Monday  morning  we  continue  our 
journey  so  that  if  possible  we  may  reach 
Hadjin  in  two  days  more  and  spend  but  one 
night  on  the  road.  However,  unless  all  in 
the  party  are  good  travellers  we  cannot  make 
it. 

There  are  three  khans  stationed  by  the  way 
and  although  the  first  one  is  new,  the  fireplaces 
are  not  properly  made  and  the  rooms  are 
dark  with  smoke.  The  courtyard  in  the  cen¬ 
tre  is  filled  with  loads,  horses,  camels,  sheep, 
goats,  Armenians,  Turks,  Circassians,  men 


20  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

and  women,  all  endeavoring  to  take  possession 
of  a  corner. 

Rooms  are  more  plentiful  here  and  the  dis¬ 
tinguished  guests  are  favored.  One  might  as 
well  sleep  in  spite  of  the  noise,  for  eyes  must 
be  closed  as  the  smoke  forbids  anything  else, 
and  it  may  be  a  wise  plan  not  to  repair  the 
fireplaces,  for  the  khan  is  too  filthy  for  any  one 
to  remain  there  at  ease  with  their  eyes  open. 

When  the  journey  is  made  in  two  days  this 
place  is  passed  by.  The  second  khan  is  far 
more  acceptable.  You  might  not  feel  com¬ 
fortable  in  it  had  you  not  put  up  at  some  of 
the  others. 

The  third  is  wretched.  There  are  only  two 
little  private  rooms,  so  called,  and  one  of  these 
has  no  door.  The  large  central  room  is  for 
the  horses  and  their  owners,  travellers  and 
herds  and  everything  that  happens  that  way 
and  needs  protection. 

The  door  of  the  small  room  opens  into  this 
stable  so  that  the  guests  may  be  benefited  by 
the  heat  the  animals  generate,  and  there  is  no 
outside  door. 

The  room  with  the  door  is  vacated  for  the 
lady  missionaries  but  the  larder,  the  cupboard 
containing  a  quantity  of  little  things,  our  sad¬ 
dles,  food  box,  valises  and  bedding  all  keep 
us  company. 


21 


Inland  Trip 

An  occasional  rap  at  the  door  informs  us 
that  the  keeper  must  enter  to  get  some  of  the 
things  essential  for  the  comfort  of  the  family 
that  night,  for  we  are  occupying  their  living- 
room. 

The  board  partition  between  us  and  the 
stable  even  permits  the  old  family  cat  to  go 
in  and  out  freely  through  the  cracks.  A 
large  curtain  is  hung  over  the  partition  to  af¬ 
ford  privacy,  and  one  must  be  extremely  tired 
and  sleepy  to  secure  even  for  a  few  moments 
an  unconscious  indifference  to  the  surround¬ 
ings.  Needless  to  say,  we  prefer  not  to  stay 
here  when  it  can  be  avoided. 

Leaving  Sis  we  are  at  once  in  the  moun¬ 
tains.  The  scenery  is  most  picturesque  as 
we  follow  the  narrow  mountain  road  by  the 
side  of  the  rushing  and  roaring  stream. 

We  ford  streams  frequently  and  then  as¬ 
cend  until  the  river  is  heard  hundreds  of  feet 
beneath  us.  We  reach  the  top  of  the  moun¬ 
tain  only  to  gaze  about  and  see  peak  after 
peak  rising  before  us  and  around  us,  and 
mountain  after  mountain  that  must  yet  be 
climbed.  The  river  appears  but  as  a  thread 
winding  about  through  the  valley  below. 

The  panorama  is  most  beautiful.  We  wait 
until  the  caravan  passes,  for  it  is  always  wise 
for  the  riders  to  lead  the  caravan  when  as- 


22  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

cending  and  to  follow  when  descending. 
The  horses  and  donkeys  are  sure-footed  but 
at  best  one  or  the  other  will  at  times  make  a 
misstep,  and  in  case  this  happens  and  the 
animal  and  load  go  rolling  down  the  moun¬ 
tainside,  the  travellers  will  be  safe. 

We  descend  the  zigzag  path  and  follow 
the  narrow  road  that  is  cut  out  of  the  mountain. 
To  our  left  is  the  perpendicular  mountain 
rising  hundreds  of  feet  above  and  to  our  right, 
hundreds  of  feet  beneath,  is  a  deep  chasm 
where  the  river  rushes  with  wild  abandon. 
This  spot  we  are  told  sees  the  sunshine  only 
half  an  hour  each  day. 

In  the  winter  time  it  is  often  icy,  but  in  the 
heat  of  the  summer  we  appreciate  ‘‘the 
shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land.” 

We  ride  on  and  on,  and  as  we  again  meet 
an  unusual  number  of  people,  we  are  sure 
there  must  be  a  town  near  by. 

We  follow  the  beautiful  river  and  enjoy  the 
grand  scenery  and  the  majestic  mountains, 
but  notice  that  now  nearly  all  the  mountains 
are  covered  with  vineyards,  and  ahead  of  us 
in  the  distance  the  mountains  are  bleak  and 
barren  and  contain  no  vegetation  whatever. 

Winding  around  another  mountain  we  get 
a  glimpse  of  riders  who  whip  up  their  horses 
and  gallop  towards  us  as  rapidly  as  possible, 


23 


Inland  Trip 

Others  are  coming  on  foot,  and  soon  we  see 
crowds  of  people,  and  amongst  them  recog¬ 
nize  our  orphans  from  the  orphanage  with 
their  teachers.  Every  one  salutes  us  with  a 
“  Hoshgelden,”  meaning  “You  have  come 
pleasantly,”  or  “  We  welcome  you.” 

We  ride  across  the  bridge  and  get  the  first 
view  of  Hadjin,  and  a  few  minutes  later  are 
at  the  end  of  our  journey,  havinc  travelled 
over  a  hundred  miles. 

Fair  weather  is  very  desirable  wL  n  jour¬ 
neying  thus,  for  in  case  of  rain,  especially 
during  the  first  days  of  travel,  it  is  almc  ;t  im¬ 
possible  to  get  the  bedding  dry  again  except 
as  it  is  held  before  the  fireplaces  in  the  khans 
in  the  evenings  or  spread  on  the  mountains 
in  the  sunshine  the  following  day  while  we 
rest  and  the  caravan  waits  for  the  bedding 
to  dry. 


II 


Hadjin 

HAD  JIN  is  an  Armenian  town  with  a 
population  of  about  20,000.  The 
Turkish  population  consists  of  only 
about  sixty  families  beside  the  officials  and 
the  standing  army.  This  is  unusual  for  in 
only  a  very  few  towns  in  this  entire  part  of 
the  country  is  the  population  so  exclusively 
Armenian.  The  two  nationalities  generally 
live  more  intermingled  in  the  cities,  towns 
and  villages. 

Hadjin  is  built  on  a  mountain  3,500  feet 
above  sea-level  and  is  closely  hemmed  in  by 
mountains  towering  thousands  of  feet  above 
the  town.  As  the  town  is  built  around  the 
mountain  as  well  as  on  the  top  of  it,  the 
entire  town  cannot  be  seen  from  any  one 
point  of  view. 

Two  roads  along  the  valley,  one  from  the 
southwest  and  the  other  from  the  northwest, 
enter  the  town,  and  the  third  comes  over 
mountains  to  the  east. 

The  narrow  little  valley  is  cultivated  and 
little  patches  of  gardens  are  seen  on  either 

24 


FIRST  VIEW  OF  HADJIN 
Government  Building  and  Telegraph  Office. 


25 


Hadjin 

side  of  the  stream.  The  nearest  cultivated 
plateaus  are  an  hour  or  two  distant  and 
some  of  the  farms  are  nearly  a  day’s  journey 
away. 

As  the  city  is  entered  the  countless  num¬ 
ber  of  little  boys  and  girls  on  the  street  is 
the  first  thing  to  challenge  attention. 

Nearly  all  of  the  houses  are  small  and 
have  flat,  ground  roofs  which  are  also  used 
for  yards.  The  houses  are  built  one  against 
the  other  and  many  have  only  openings  in 
the  walls  for  windows.  As  tier  after  tier  of 
these  houses  are  built  up  the  mountainside, 
the  roofs  of  the  lower  houses  often  form  the 
yard  and  entrance  to  the  upper  house  and 
as  the  upper  street  is  frequently  level  with 
the  roof  of  the  lower  house,  it  is  not  an 
unusual  sight  to  see  men,  women  and  chil¬ 
dren,  the  babies  in  their  cradles,  chickens, 
dogs,  cats,  cows  and  donkeys  on  the  roof. 
Some  of  these  steep  streets  have  been  re¬ 
paired  and  so  are  much  improved  by  having 
a  stairway  built  in  the  road.  At  the  top  of 
this  mountain  and  in  the  midst  of  this  part 
of  the  town  you  will  find  the  girls’  orphan¬ 
age,  while  the  boys'  orphanage  is  only  a 
block  away.  The  American  Board  buildings 
are  beyond  the  limits  of  the  town. 

As  the  caravan  enters,  the  women  and 


26  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

children  crowd  the  roofs  and  the  men  and 
boys  the  streets  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  latest 
arrival. 

As  the  poverty-stricken  aspect  becomes 
evident,  invariably  the  first  question  asked  is, 
Why  should  any  people  locate  in  such  a  place  ? 
The  answer  is  that  this  place  was  sought 
out  for  safety,  since  God  has  by  nature  forti¬ 
fied  it,  leaving  but  three  roads  of  entrance. 
Although  poverty,  sickness  and  filth  abound, 
it  is  amazing  to  see  how  attached  the  vil¬ 
lagers  are  to  their  native  town,  speaking  of 
it  as  an  ideal  spot.  Only  poverty  and  star¬ 
vation  will  drive  them  away  to  seek  a  liveli¬ 
hood  elsewhere.  Yet  after  the  hot  summer 
months  are  past,  streams  of  people  are  seen 
going  to  the  Adana  plain  to  spend  the 
winter.  Weavers,  shoemakers,  carpenters, 
blacksmiths,  men  who  follow  all  kinds  of 
trades  are  scattered  about  in  the  Turkish 
villages  on  the  plain  while  some  of  those 
who  are  unfortunate  enough  not  to  have  a 
trade  go  to  help  cultivate  the  fields  or  to  be 
the  servants  of  the  richer.  Sometimes  whole 
families  move  to  the  plain  for  the  winter 
while  others  leave  the  women  and  children 
of  the  family  in  Hadjin  and  bid  them  farewell 
until  the  following  summer. 

We  must  not,  of  course,  think  of  an 


*7 


Hadjin 

Oriental  family  as  we  do  of  an  American  or 
European,  for  there  the  sons  all  bring  their 
wives  to  the  father’s  house  while  the  daugh¬ 
ters  are  married  into  their  husband’s  family 
and  go  to  live  with  their  father  and  mother- 
in-law.  A  family  consequently  often  consists 
of  three  or  four  generations  and  the  great¬ 
grandmother  or  the  grandmother  is  the  high¬ 
est  authority  amongst  the  women  of  the 
household. 

On  account  of  the  shortage  of  crops  in 
the  year  of  which  we  write  an  unusual 
number  of  our  Hadjin  people  had  gone  to 
the  plain  to  find  work. 


Ill 


Liberty  Proclaimed 

TEN  years  had  passed  since  the  or¬ 
phanage  was  first  started  and  al¬ 
though  many  of  our  girls  were 
married  and  the  boys  able  to  support  them¬ 
selves,  at  this  time  still  nearly  three  hundred 
orphans  were  being  fed,  clothed  and  edu¬ 
cated. 

We  had  seen  the  oppression  of  the 
Armenian  people,  the  oldest  Christian  nation 
on  earth  by  their  Mohammedan  rulers  and 
in  our  hearts  the  cry  would  arise,  “  How  long, 
Lord?  How  long?” 

The  Turkish  officers  treated  us  always 
courteously  and  respectfully  as  their  equals  : 
but  the  Armenians  always  as  inferiors  and 
the  poorest  Mohammedan  beggar  thanked 
“  Allah  ”  (God)  that  he  was  one  of  those  who 
were  “resigned  to  God”  and  not  an  unbe¬ 
lieving  “  Ghavour  ”  (Christian). 

A  Turkish  military  officer  who  called  on 
us  and  appeared  friendly  to  the  mission  ar¬ 
gued  the  point  that  the  uneducated  Armeni¬ 
ans  made  better  citizens  than  the  educated. 

28 


29 


Liberty  Proclaimed 

He  was  answered,  “  Whatever  your  opin¬ 
ion  may  be  with  regard  to  education,  when 
it  comes  to  caring  for  the  orphans,  it  is  not 
only  the  privilege  but  also  the  duty  of  both 
Mohammedan  and  Christian  to  care  for  them 
as  the  Koran  and  Bible  teach  us.  Besides 
this,  the  government  needs  educated  men  to 
fill  positions  and  surely  an  educated  man  is 
worth  more  to  any  government  than  an  illit¬ 
erate  one.” 

He  answered,  “  Ah  1  you  do  not  under¬ 
stand.  Give  a  donkey  a  handful  of  straw 
and  a  kick  and  he  is  satisfied.” 

After  asking  how  this  could  be  applied  to 
the  Armenian  he  said,  “You  can  tax  and 
re-tax  an  illiterate  Armenian  and  impose 
upon  him  as  one  chooses.  He  sighs  but  can¬ 
not  help  himself  and  one  can  do  as  he  pleases. 
Educate  this  same  man  and  when  thus  treated 
he  asks  for  an  explanation  or  proves  that  this 
is  unjust.” 

At  this  time,  July  26,  1908,  a  telegram 
reached  Hadjin.  It  was  sent  by  an  Arme¬ 
nian  doctor  on  the  coast  to  his  father  who 
was  the  city  mayor,  and  read,  “  Rejoice,  we 
are  a  free  people.  Liberty  has  been  pro¬ 
claimed.”  The  telegraph  operator  who  was 
a  Turk  was  alarmed  as  was  every  one  else  to 
think  that  one  would  risk  his  life  by  sending 


30  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

such  a  message.  But  it  was  followed  by 
others  which  said,  “  All  Turkey  and  Adana 
are  celebrating.  Hurrah  for  Liberty,  Equal¬ 
ity,  Justice  and  Fraternity.” 

The  officers  heard  of  these  strange  mes¬ 
sages  only  to  be  exceedingly  alarmed.  But 
the  next  message  said,  “  Why  do  you  not  cele¬ 
brate?  Turkey  will  think  you  are  traitors  if 
you  do  not  appreciate  and  welcome  the  mes¬ 
sage.’ ' 

After  consulting  each  other,  the  officers 
finally  decided  that  neither  one  nor  the  other 
would  be  responsible  individually ;  but  that 
all  of  them  would  frame  the  message  in  re¬ 
ply  and  act  in  accord.  In  case  it  was  a  false 
report  they  would  all  have  a  share  in  the 
punishment. 

But  as  every  one  knows,  it  was  not  a  false 
report.  The  new  government  at  Constan¬ 
tinople  had  proclaimed  that  there  was  to  be 
liberty,  equality,  justice  and  fraternity  here¬ 
after,  regardless  of  religion  or  race. 

The  people  were  hilarious.  Every  man 
wanted  to  possess  the  things  which  had  been 
forbidden  them  and  especially  a  weapon. 
Although  the  Mohammedans  were  always 
armed  heretofore,  it  was  considered  an  of¬ 
fense  for  a  Christian  to  possess  a  firearm  or 
sword.  Speeches  on  liberty  were  delivered 


Liberty  Proclaimed  31 

by  Armenians  and  Turks,  and  Union  Liberty 
meetings  were  not  unusual. 

It  chanced  this  year  that  there  was  again  a 
shortage  of  crops  and  in  the  autumn  between 
three  and  five  thousand  men,  many  of  them 
taking  their  families  with  them,  moved  to  the 
plain. 

At  different  places  these  little  Armenian 
villages  were  started  and  the  uncultivated 
fields  cultivated.  They  were  thriving  and 
prospering  everywhere  and  many  who  had 
scarcely  known  what  it  was  to  have  sufficient 
food  now  wrote  they  had  a  plenty  and  to 
spare. 

Those  who  remained  in  Hadjin  suffered 
from  poverty  as  well  as  sickness,  for  there 
was  an  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever  and 
many  other  diseases  raging. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Barker  and  family  were  in 
America  on  furlough  and  Mr.  Barker’s  health 
was  poor.  Miss  Tschumi  was  spending  a 
few  months  in  Switzerland,  trying  to  regain 
her  strength  and  health. 

Mrs.  Maurer,  the  doctor,  succumbed  to 
typhoid  fever  while  Miss  Honk  was  bedfast 
with  the  same  disease  and  could  not  even  at¬ 
tend  the  funeral. 

Our  circle  which  had  numbered  seven  had 
dwindled  to  three  and  one  of  them  very  weak 


32  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

from  the  effects  of  the  fever.  Upon  Miss 
Tschumi’s  return  in  the  fall  our  circle  again 
numbered  four,  but  only  a  few  weeks  later 
Miss  Honk  had  a  complete  breakdown  and 
was  finally  taken  to  the  Beirut  hospital  by 
Miss  Tschumi,  and  accompanied  to  the  coast 
by  Mr.  Maurer,  where  the  Misses  Bowman 
were  awaiting  their  arrival  and  ready  to 
come  to  our  assistance,  having  just  arrived 
from  America. 


IV 


Increased  Alarm 

WHEN  liberty  was  proclaimed  there 
were  Mohammedans  here  and 
there  who  objected  to  the  new 
government  and  in  Damascus  and  Arabia 
many  pious  Mohammedans  declared  that  the 
government  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
skeptical,  otherwise  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  place  a  Christian  and  Moham¬ 
medan  on  the  same  basis.  As  time  passed 
this  feeling  spread  throughout  the  country. 

The  Armenians  became  alarmed  and  de¬ 
clared  that  the  Turks  were  buying  large 
supplies  of  ammunition  and  that  Martini  rifles 
were  freely  distributed  to  the  village  Turks 
and  yet  no  Armenians  could  buy  them. 
This  was  contradicted  by  the  Turks  and 
their  friends  who  declared  that  the  govern¬ 
ment  had  decided  that  only  the  militia 
should  possess  this  special  weapon,  which 
was  of  course  quite  justifiable. 

Rumors  continued  to  circulate  until  alarm 


33 


34  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

gradually  changed  to  consternation,  yet 
many  of  us  thought  it  was  needless. 

Easter  was  approaching  and  the  American 
Board  and  Native  Protestant  Conferences 
were  to  be  held  in  Adana. 

As  the  American  conference  preceded  the 
native,  Mr.  Maurer  and  one  of  the  American 
Board  missionaries  started  for  Adana  three 
days  in  advance  of  the  native  brethren. 

When  they  reached  the  plain  they  wrote 
telling  us  of  their  journey,  how  very  fertile 
the  plain  was  and  how  prosperous  were  the 
Armenians. 

The  caravan  bound  for  the  conference  now 
bade  us  good-bye.  It  was  composed  of  the 
village  pastors,  the  Hadjin  pastors,  their 
delegates,  deacons,  the  head  teacher  of  our 
girls’  home,  and  merchants  who  were  going 
to  buy  goods  for  their  stores  and  who  went  at 
this  time  in  order  to  have  the  benefit  of  the 
meetings.  Many  also  took  their  wives  with 
them.  This  large  caravan  which  left  us 
continued  to  grow  in  size  as  the  pastors, 
deacons,  delegates  and  Christians  from  the 
towns  and  villages  along  the  way  joined  it. 

Scarcely  had  the  caravan  left  when  the 
alarm  increased  yet  more.  On  the  arrival  in 
Sis,  the  members  of  the  party  were  surprised 
to  find  so  much  excitement,  since  thus  far 


Increased  Alarm 


35 


they  had  found  no  occasion  for  alarm,  yet 
many  begged  them  to  discontinue  their 
journey. 

Although  there  was  some  hesitancy,  they 
knew  that  the  least  delay  would  make  them 
too  late  for  the  opening  of  the  conference  in 
Adana.  They  consulted  the  local  officer 
with  regards  to  the  advisability  of  travelling, 
but  he  told  them  they  need  not  go  unless 
they  chose,  but  there  was  really  no  cause  for 
alarm.  The  pastor  of  Sis,  the  delegates,  the 
deacon’s  wife  and  a  number  of  merchants 
joined  the  caravan  as  it  finally  continued  the 
journey. 

A  Turkish  officer  from  Sis  visited  us  after 
the  massacre  and  told  us  of  the  above  and 
that  when  the  governor  gave  the  advice  he 
knew  that  the  dreadful  massacres  in  Adana 
had  already  begun  and  that  the  party  was 
riding  into  the  jaws  of  a  most  cruel  death, 
but  the  governor  told  this  officer,  “  I  did  not 
dare  to  tell  them  for  I  knew  the  Armenians 
would  be  alarmed  and  I  am  awaiting  the 
arrival  of  several  regiments  before  they  are 
to  know  of  it.”  This  officer  strongly  con¬ 
demned  the  governor’s  conduct,  for  he  could 
have  detained  the  party  on  any  pretense, 
did  he  not  wish  the  truth  to  be  known. 

Soon  after  liberty  was  proclaimed  the 


36  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

standing  army  of  Hadjin  and  the  chief 
military  officers  had  been  withdrawn,  and 
the  chief  civil  officer  also  called  away  and  no 
one  as  yet  sent  to  occupy  his  place  or  per¬ 
form  his  duties. 

The  First  Blow 

Nearly  a  year  had  passed  since  liberty  was 
proclaimed.  On  the  fifteenth  of  April  the 
schoolgirls  were  taken  on  the  mountain  for 
a  picnic  when  they  heard  the  Mohammedans 
practicing  and  shouting,  “  Long  live  our 
king.” 

Only  two  days  later  ambiguous  telegrams 
were  received.  The  one  received  by  the 
Armenian  prelate  read,  “  The  relief  you 
expect  to  send  to  Zeitoun,  send  at  once.  Do 
not  come  here.”  Another  received  by  one 
of  the  principal  men  of  Hadjin  from  his  son 
at  the  coast  said,  “We  are  alive  but  our 
children  have  died  of  starvation.”  This 
caused  great  alarm,  for  the  prelate  had  no 
relief  to  send  and  all  felt  sure  the  message 
meant  to  ask  for  help  and  to  warn  them. 
The  sender  of  the  second  message  had  no 
children  and  why  he  should  say  that  they 
died  of  starvation  when  living  on  the  fertile 
plain  was  obviously  a  veiled  warning. 

It  was  said  that  the  judge  (acting  lieuten- 


Increased  Alarm 


37 


ant-governor)  received  a  telegram  to  the 
effect  that  Adana  and  Sis  were  in  rebellion 
and  that  he  should  call  in  the  reserves  to 
prevent  such  a  contingency  in  Hadjin. 

On  Saturday  morning  the  Mohammedan 
shops  were  not  opened,  it  is  said,  but  the  offi¬ 
cials  and  other  Turks  were  walking  about  the 
market-place  anxiously  watching  the  moun¬ 
tain  road.  Evidently  they  were  informed  of 
something,  for  the  telegraph  operator  told  us 
he  had  been  kept  busy  sending  messages  day 
and  night  for  nearly  a  week  previous  to 
this. 

One  teacher  after  another  called,  asking  if 
it  was  true  that  Mr.  Maurer  had  been  killed, 
and  what  the  American  papers  say  about 
Turkey’s  critical  condition  ;  and  wondering 
why  we  refused  to  tell  them  what  we  knew, 
for  if  they  were  to  be  massacred  it  were  bet¬ 
ter  to  know  the  worst. 

It  seemed  impossible  to  persuade  them  that 
we  knew  no  more  about  it  than  they  did. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  a  Turkish  store¬ 
keeper  is  said  to  have  closed  his  shop,  drawn 
a  pistol  and  fired  saying,  “  Whatever  is  to  be, 
let  it  be  now.”  About  the  same  time  a  no¬ 
toriously  wicked  Turk  from  Albustan,  whose 
arrival  had  aroused  suspicion  (for  although 
he  declared  that  he  brought  wheat  to  sell,  all 


38  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

knew  he  had  not),  is  said  to  have  called  to 
the  Turks  from  the  roof  of  a  Turkish  house 
saying,  “  Are  there  no  faithful  here  ?  The 
Christians  of  Adana  and  the  villages  have 
been  destroyed.  Why  do  you  linger  ?  ” 
The  government,  considering  the  small  num¬ 
ber  of  Turks  in  Hadjin  and  their  fear  of  the 
Christians,  doubts  this  story. 

We  have  seen  for  ourselves  the  Turkish 
storekeeper  rushing  through  the  streets  pur¬ 
sued  by  Armenians  and  both  he  and  they 
were  firing. 

The  Armenians  had  hurriedly  closed  their 
stores,  rushed  to  their  homes,  sent  the  women 
and  children  indoors  and  armed  themselves. 
The  cry  went  out,  “The  Turks  are  coming,” 
and  the  men  rushed  to  the  roads  to  prevent, 
if  possible,  their  entering  the  town. 

During  the  excitement  a  policeman  in 
town,  who  hurriedly  mounted  a  horse,  was 
shot,  the  crowd  supposing  that  he  was 
ready  to  gallop  away  to  meet  the  enemy. 
He  was  taken  to  an  Armenian  home  and 
cared  for  by  the  doctor,  but  was  later  taken 
to  the  government  building  at  his  request 
where  he  died  about  ten  days  later. 

The  Armenians  also  met  a  captain  of  the 
reserves  who  had  been  out  in  the  villages 
gathering  recruits.  Knowing  that  he  also 


HADJIN  FROM  THE  EAST 


Increased  Alarm 


39 


was  a  notoriously  wicked  man  they  demanded 
that  he  give  up  his  arms  before  entering  the 
town  but  he  cursed  and  swore  at  them  and 
began  to  fire.  He  was  promptly  shot. 

The  night  passed  and  yet  the  Turks  had 
not  arrived.  The  Hadjin  people  sent  a  mes¬ 
senger  to  a  village  near  by  telling  the  Ar¬ 
menian  villagers  of  the  danger  and  they  soon 
came  rushing  into  the  town  for  protection, 
but  empty  handed. 

At  this  point  a  teacher  came  to  ask  if  we 
had  a  spy-glass  for  he  was  quite  sure  that  he 
saw  the  heads  of  men  above  the  mountain 
ridge  and  that  the  Turkish  villagers  were  at¬ 
tempting  to  climb  the  steep  mountains. 

As  we  looked  through  the  glass  he  said, 
“Do  you. see  that  rock  projecting  and  the 
tree  over  on  this  side?  Now  look  carefully 
for  I  occasionally  see  a  head  appearing  above 
the  ridge.” 

As  we  looked,  to  our  amazement  we  saw 
the  head  of  one  appear  for  a  moment  and 
then  disappear  again  and  then  another  and 
another  and  still  another  and  we  knew  the 
Turks  on  the  opposite  side  were  attempting 
to  climb  that  mountain,  nearly  perpendicular, 
and  to  come  down  and  surround  the  town, 
or  to  fill  the  barracks,  at  the  foot  of  the  moun¬ 
tain. 


40  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

The  prelate,  city  mayor  and  chief  men  of 
the  city  called,  after  having  spent  the  night  in 
consultation  and  examining  the  town,  to  see 
if  there  was  any  hope  of  self-defense.  They 
begged  that  we  send  telegrams  to  the  consuls 
and  ambassadors  asking  for  protection  for 
ourselves,  telling  us  of  the  ambiguous  tele¬ 
grams  and  their  interpretation. 

While  speaking,  a  pale  messenger  boy 
suddenly  rushed  in,  having  a  handful  of  mes¬ 
sages  and  gave  me  one.  Eager  hands  were 
stretched  out  for  it  from  all  directions  and  all 
impatiently  waited  knowledge  of  its  contents. 
We  asked  one  of  our  students  to  read  it 
for  us  for  it  was  written  in  the  Arabic 
characters  and  I  was  familiar  only  with  the 
Armenian. 

He  turned  pale  but  said  nothing  in  answer 
to  our  questions.  We  handed  it  to  another 
and  he  read,  “  Of  the  Americans,  Mr.  Rogers 
and  Mr.  Maurer  are  dead.  We  are  awaiting 
news  from  you.” 

It  was  sent  by  the  missionary  in  Adana 
where  the  massacre  had  started  four  days  be¬ 
fore  even  the  shops  had  been  closed  in  Had¬ 
jin,  and  where  the  conference  was  to  have 
been. 

Mr.  Rogers  was  the  newly  appointed 
American  Board  missionary  who,  with  his 


Increased  Alarm 


41 

family,  was  to  come  to  Hadjin  to  take  up  the 
work  immediately  after  the  conference. 

Another  of  our  missionaries  gone  and  again 
we  were  only  four,  two  having  arrived  only 
six  weeks  before  the  massacre  began. 


V  V 


1 


V 

Approaching  Doom 

MEMOUSH  OGHLOU’S  son,  a  Had- 
jin  Turk,  secured  the  consent  of 
the  Armenians  to  go  to  his  father 
in  the  village,  and  although  no  one  was  al¬ 
lowed  to  come  or  go,  they  escorted  him  to 
the  Armenian  outposts. 

Later  on  it  was  discovered  that  in  his  load 
were  concealed  many  Martini  rifles,  and  that 
he  joined  his  father  in  leading  an  attacking 
party  of  Turks  from  the  surrounding  villages 
against  Hadjin.  This  caused  great  indigna¬ 
tion. 

The  same  day  a  number  of  reserves  arrived 
but  were  captured  by  the  Armenians  and 
placed  in  the  khan  but  were  later  turned  over 
to  the  government. 

The  Hadjin  Moslems  who  tried  to  escape 
or  to  take  refuge  in  the  government  build¬ 
ings  were  disarmed,  but  not  those  who  were 
willing  to  remain  in  town. 

It  was  reported  that  the  plan  of  the  mas¬ 
sacre  was  to  rush  upon  Hadjin  on  Sunday 

42 


43 


Approaching  Doom 

morning  when  nearly  the  entire  population 
would  be  congregated  in  the  churches.  The 
city  would  be  set  on  fire,  the  church  build¬ 
ings  and  congregations  burned  and  the  re¬ 
maining  few  could  soon  be  wiped  out. 

A  band  of  Armenians  went  to  Roomloo  to 
rescue  the  belongings  of  the  refugees  if  pos¬ 
sible,  but  the  Moslems  were  pillaging  the 
Christian  houses  and  hauling  cart  loads  of 
provisions  away  to  their  own  villages.  Later 
on  all  these  houses  were  burned.  There  were 
about  two  hundred  Turks  there  with  Memoush 
Oghlou  and  his  son  at  the  head  of  the  pil¬ 
lagers. 

Urgent  telegrams  were  now  sent  to  all 
quarters.  On  Monday  the  Armenians  sought 
help  from  the  government  and  asked  the 
judge  and  a  few  soldiers  to  accompany  them 
to  Roomloo  to  disperse  the  Turks,  and  to  res¬ 
cue  the  Christians’  property. 

When  only  a  short  distance  from  the  town 
one  of  these  soldiers  fled,  which  alarmed  the 
Armenians,  and  thereupon  they  demanded 
that  the  soldiers  exchange  weapons  with 
them,  for  the  soldiers  wrere  armed  with  Mar¬ 
tini  rifles  of  American  manufacture  which  car¬ 
ried  bullets  twice  as  far  as  the  little  rifles  in 
the  Armenians’  possession.  About  a  dozen 
of  these  rifles  were  given  to  the  Armenians 


44  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

by  the  soldiers  with  the  judge’s  consent.  The 
Armenians  feared  the  soldiers,  and  they  and 
the  judge  feared  the  Armenians.  Conse¬ 
quently  both  soldiers  and  Armenians  returned 
to  Hadjin,  and  the  judge  continued  his  jour¬ 
ney  alone.  Instead  of  preventing  the  Turks 
from  attacking  the  town,  he  is  said  to  have 
encouraged  them. 

An  Armenian  woman  who  had  been  at¬ 
tacked  by  the  Turks  when  passing  their  vil¬ 
lage,  came  into  town  having  six  sword 
wounds.  The  sights  she  reported  she  had 
seen,  together  with  her  condition,  increased 
the  state  of  alarm.  Villagers  appeared  on 
the  mountains.  They  attacked  the  shep¬ 
herds,  seized  their  flocks,  and  the  Hadjin 
guards  were  obliged  to  recede.  The  Ar¬ 
menians  persuaded  two  Turkish  teachers  to 
go  to  the  Turkish  villages  to  make  peace. 
They  went,  but  instead  of  messages  of  peace, 
invented  horrible  tales,  and  thus  instigated 
the  Turks  to  take  revenge. 

The  following  day  it  was  noticeable  that 
the  number  of  Turks  on  the  mountains  had 
increased. 

Until  this  time  the  skirmishes  had  taken 
place  outside  of  the  town  at  the  Armenian 
outposts.  A  party  of  Armenians,  led  by  the 
priests,  went  to  meet  the  judge  at  the  ap- 


Approaching  Doom  45 

pointed  hour,  to  welcome  him  back  into  the 
town,  but  he  did  not  come. 

Captain  Ibrahim  fled  to  the  barracks  with 
the  few  reserves  he  had  and  refused  to  afford 
the  town  any  protection  or  to  send  any  sol¬ 
diers  to  protect  the  mission  buildings. 

The  Armenians  were  frantic  and  revenged 
themselves  for  Memoush  Oghlou’s  conduct 
by  burning  his  little  garden  house,  for  he  was 
leading  the  troops  nearer  and  nearer,  intent 
upon  destroying  Hadjin.  This,  after  the  Ar¬ 
menians  had  given  protection  to  his  son  so 
that  he  might  join  his  father,  enraged  the 
Armenians.  The  whole  town  was  in  great 
confusion,  some  suggesting  one  thing  and 
some  another.  A  mob  composed  of  the  most 
illiterate  and  unwise  were  bent  upon  pillaging 
the  few  stores  and  wheat  bins  that  belonged 
to  the  Turks. 

The  prelate,  backed  by  the  educated  class, 
protested  severely,  assuring  them  that  giving 
vent  to  such  rage  would  benefit  no  one  and 
that  the  town  would  suffer  for  it.  He  pub¬ 
licly  announced  that  if  any  were  really  suffer¬ 
ing  from  hunger  he  would  give  them  wheat 
free  of  charge  rather  than  have  the  Turks1 
wheat  touched. 

Haratune  Usta,  our  steward,  who  was  shot 
a  few  days  later,  an  earnest  Christian  man, 


46  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

about  sixty  years  of  age,  our  chief  standby, 
rushed  to  us  and  begged  that  we  go  into  the 
midst  of  the  mob  and  try  to  dissuade  them, 
for  he  thought  they  would  heed  our  words. 
Hundreds  of  these  frantic  and  uncontrollable 
peoples  were  of  the  very  poorest,  many  of 
whom  depended  upon  us  for  work  and  relief, 
or  else  had  some  little  orphan  relative  in  our 
home,  greatly  appreciating  the  help  given 
them,  would,  he  declared,  listen  to  us. 

Although  this  suggestion  was  too  unwise 
to  accept,  we  gave  the  steward,  who  was 
often  our  representative,  a  message  for  the 
people,  assuring  them  that  we  would  do  all 
in  our  power  to  save  them  from  the  sword  of 
the  Turks  providing  they  would  be  quiet  and 
law-abiding  subjects  even  at  this  perilous  mo¬ 
ment  ;  that  any  violent  conduct  would  only  in¬ 
crease  their  danger  and  make  it  impossible 
for  us  to  give  them  assistance.  The  armed 
mob  at  once  dispersed,  we  were  told,  as  this 
message  was  shouted  to  them  in  our  name 
by  several  Armenian  officers,  yet  we  know 
that  the  teachers,  who  stood  in  front  of  the 
bins  and  protested,  as  well  as  the  prelate  with 
his  appeal,  deserve  much  credit  for  it. 

It  was  soon  found  that  all  the  appeals  sent 
by  the  Armenian  people  were  discarded  and 
instead  of  receiving  sympathy,  or  a  promise 


47 


Approaching  Doom 

of  protection,  the  chief  military  officer  at  the 
capital  telegraphed  threats,  saying  he  would 
come  up  with  an  army  and  wipe  Hadjin  from 
the  face  of  the  earth  if  the  Armenians  would 
not  lay  down  their  arms  and  stop  rebelling. 

In  answer  to  our  many  telegrams,  we  were 
informed  that  the  chief  military  officer  from 
Fekka,  only  eight  hours  away,  was  coming 
to  our  rescue.  We  hoped  and  feared  as  we 
knew  three  hundred  soldiers  were  marching 
towards  us  but  the  following  morning  we  saw 
division  after  division  descending  the  moun¬ 
tain,  the  first  divisions  apparently  waiting  for 
the  later  divisions  so  as  to  join  them  before 
entering  the  city.  But  alas !  they  located 
there  and  made  no  attempt  to  enter  the  city 
or  to  disperse  the  village  Turks  on  the  moun¬ 
tains. 

All  attempts  made  to  communicate  with 
the  commander  were  futile  and  he  could  not 
even  be  located.  To  this  day  it  is  not  known 
whether  he  was  concealed  in  the  barracks  in 
Hadjin,  in  a  Turkish  village  two  hours  dis¬ 
tant,  or  whether  he  was  commanding  the  at¬ 
tack  made  against  Hadjin. 

Finally  two  Moslem  teachers  consented  to 
carry  a  message  to  the  commander  but,  it 
was  said,  that  he  sent  them  as  prisoners  to 
a  neighboring  Turkish  village  for  carrying 


48  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

Christian  messages.  A  message  of  peace 
with  a  Turkish  flag  was  sent  to  the  band  of 
Turks  on  the  opposite  mountain,  but  they 
warned  the  bearer  to  return  else  they  would 
shoot  him. 

The  Hadjin  people  now  unanimously 
agreed  that  the  only  hope  of  relief  was  for 
us  to  go  to  the  telegraph  office,  which  was 
situated  in  the  government  building,  and  tel¬ 
egraph  directly  to  the  consul. 

What  benefit  could  be  derived  from  it? 
We  knew  nothing  about  the  code  and  could 
not  know  whether  the  ticking  sound  informed 
the  consul  of  what  we  wanted  him  to  know  or 
whether  it  told  him  something  entirely  differ 
ent.  Since  this  was  the  case  and  we  had  to 
take  the  Moslem  operator’s  word  for  it,  we 
might  as  well  send  him  the  written  message 
for  the  consul.  Moreover,  our  teacher  had 
volunteered  to  assist  in  protecting  the  town 
and  there  was  no  one  to  help  keep  our  ex¬ 
cited  boys  under  control  except  our  steward. 
It  seemed  unwise  for  us  to  leave  the  orphan¬ 
age. 

But  this  appeared  as  only  an  excuse  and 
no  reason  to  the  thousands  of  frightened  girls 
and  mothers,  the  crying  children  and  babies 
and  the  pale  and  sleepless  fathers,  husbands 
and  brothers  who  seemed  sure  that  by  this 


49 


Approaching  Doom 

act  we  might  save  them  from  the  impending 
doom.  We  mounted  our  horse,  the  steward 
and  several  others  accompanying  us,  and  de¬ 
termined  to  smile  all  the  way  through  the 
town  and  to  encourage  the  disheartened  peo¬ 
ple  if  possible. 

The  doors  and  windows  were  barred,  and 
only  here  and  there  men  were  seen  going  to 
or  coming  from  the  ranks.  But  as  the  cry 
went  out,  “  They  are  going  to  telegraph  for 
help,”  it  was  touching  to  see  the  mothers, 
wives,  daughters  and  children  (for  the  men 
were  all  in  the  ranks)  peep  out  of  the  win¬ 
dows  which  were  cautiously  opened,  and,  as 
they  beat  their  beasts  in  anguish,  shower  a 
mixture  of  questions  and  blessings  upon  us, 
our  parents  and  all  who  helped  to  send  us, 
praying  that  God  might  protect  us  while  we 
were  endeavoring  to  save  the  town. 

The  telegraph  office  was  crowded  with 
Had  jin  Turks  and  Armenians,  the  Turks 
declaring  themselves  entirely  innocent  of  any 
intrigue  whatever,  although  it  was  evident 
no  Armenian  believed  them. 

Firing  was  heard  and  the  crowd  rushed 
down-stairs  as  fast  as  possible  saying,  “The 
soldiers  in  the  barracks  are  firing  upon  us.” 
The  operator  turned  pale  and  swore  that  he 
did  not  believe  it,  for  it  was  an  Armenian 


i 


50  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

plot  and  the  Turks  had  nothing  to  do  with 
it,  but  the  firing  continued  and  he  could  see 
as  well  as  we  did  that  Captain  Ibrahim  and  his 
soldiers  in  the  barracks  were  firing  upon  the 
town.  While  the  operator,  our  two  men 
and  myself  were  left  alone  in  the  office,  he 
said  to  me  in  a  most  significant  way,  “They 
will  do  nothing  to  you .  If  you  choose  you 
can  step  into  the  adjoining  room  where  the 
Turkish  officers  are  and  they  will  give  you  pro¬ 
tection  until  things  are  more  settled  again.” 

The  consul  had  not  yet  arrived  and  so  we 
asked  our  steward  to  return  to  the  orphan¬ 
age  that  the  children  might  not  be  left  alone 
at  this  time,  but  he  refused  to  leave  me  alone 
in  a  Turkish  building  at  such  a  critical  time. 
We  fully  appreciated  his  fatherly  interest  in 
our  safety  as  we  were  three  days’  journey 
from  the  nearest  male  Americans.  We  re¬ 
turned  to  the  orphanage  and  after  the  consul 
was  ready  made  a  second  trip.  He  told  us 
the  war  vessels  had  arrived  and  that  the 
Turkish  government  would  protect  us. 

After  making  a  last  call  on  the  American 
Board  missionary  and  on  Miss  Tschumi  and 
Miss  Anna  Bowman  in  our  girls’  orphanage 
we  saw  no  more  of  each  other  until  our 
troublous  times  ceased,  for  the  Fekka  soldiers 
also  began  to  fire  upon  us. 


MISS  TSCHUMI  AND  A  FEW  OF  OUR  ARMENIAN  ORPHAN  GIRLS 


5i 


Approaching  Doom 

Having  lived  in  Turkey  longer  than  any 
Americans  in  Hadjin  at  this  time,  they 
desired  me  to  transact  whatever  business 
needed  to  be  transacted  in  the  name  of  the 
Americans. 

Bonfires  were  seen  on  the  mountains  all 
about  us  at  night.  Dozens  of  Turks  were 
descending  the  mountains  at  different  places 
until  it  looked  as  if  the  ants  were  gathering 
to  an  ant-hill  and  as  we  looked  upon  this 
panic-stricken  Armenian  people  and  watched 
the  bloodthirsty  Turks  gathering  we  remem¬ 
bered  Christ’s  words  to  His  apostles,  “  Behold, 
I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of 
wolves  :  be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents  and 
harmless  as  doves.” 

It  was  Thursday  and  matters  were  becom¬ 
ing  more  serious  so  we  prepared  a  lengthy 
telegram  to  be  sent  to  the  English  and 
American  consuls  at  the  coast  and  the 
ambassadors  at  Constantinople  who  had 
requested  us  to  send  daily  messages  and 
keep  them  informed  with  regards  to  our 
situation. 

Our  steward  took  this  message  to  the 
office  and  half  an  hour  later  a  second  man 
took  another. 

Scarcely  were  we  seated  around  the  din¬ 
ing-room  table  when  a  stranger  rushed  in 


52  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

the  room  with  the  words,  “  Your  man  is  shot. 
I  brought  the  riderless  horse.”  To  all  our 
questions  of  which  and  where  it  happened 
and  requests  to  have  the  body  brought,  we 
could  only  learn  that  it  was  the  rider  of  the 
horse  brought  back  to  us  and  that  the  rider 
himself  lay  dead  under  a  hail  of  Turkish 
bullets  and  quite  beyond  reach.  We  could 
not  tell  which  messenger  it  was  but  found 
later  to  our  horror  that  it  was  Haratune 
Usta  who  had  been  shot,  leaving  behind 
him  a  widow  and  six  children,  now  orphans. 

A  few  minutes  later  the  second  man  rushed 
in  pale,  and  tremblingly  said,  “  Haratune  Usta 
is  dead  and  is  lying  in  the  middle  of  the 
road.  I  had  to  ride  over  his  body.  Three 
shots  were  fired  at  me,  missing  me,  but  the 
horse  is  very  slightly  wounded.”  We  sent 
him  home  to  his  weeping  family  and  brought 
Haratune  Usta’s  widow  and  six  orphans  to 
the  orphanage  where  we  would  try  to  protect 
them. 

The  orphanage  was  crowded  with  refugees 
and  it  was  impossible  to  hide  the  tears  as 
this  weeping  family  came  to  crowd  in  with 
the  others,  and  all  gave  expression  to  their 
grief  and  sympathy,  for  he  was  a  man  be¬ 
loved  by  all,  Turks  and  Armenians  alike.  A 
few  weeks  later  the  seventh  little  one  came 


Approaching  Doom  53 

to  the  bereaved  and  unhappy  widow  but 
died  a  week  later. 

The  American  consular  agent  telegraphed 
that  a  message  regarding  our  condition  had 
been  wired  to  America  and  to  the  embassy 
and  the  English  consul  urged  the  acceptance 
of  the  commander  of  the  Fekka  troops  and 
also  informed  us  that  a  commission  was  being 
sent  to  reconcile  the  Armenians  and  Turks. 

The  people  feared  the  regiments  and 
begged  that  the  commission  precede  the 
regiments  in  entering  the  town,  saying  that 
there  was  no  confidence  left  between  the 
nationalities.  But  the  commission  never 
arrived  for  it  was  composed  of  three  Mo¬ 
hammedans  who  were  persuaded  by  the 
Fekka  commander  that  their  mission  was  an 
impossible  one  and  so  returned  to  the  coast 
condemning  Had  jin  to  the  government  with¬ 
out  Hadjin’s  ever  knowing  of  their  arrival 
or  departure. 

Finding  that  no  commission  was  coming, 
the  Armenians  now  begged  that  the  regi¬ 
ments  enter ;  this  they  refused  to  do  and  con¬ 
tinued  firing  upon  the  town. 

At  last  evening  came  and  we  found  our¬ 
selves  encircled  by  flames  as  the  vineyard 
and  summer-houses  all  about  us  were  set 
afire. 


54  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

Without  lanterns  and  as  quietly  as  pos¬ 
sible  a  party  started  for  the  body  of  our 
steward  and  they  brought  him  into  our  sit¬ 
ting-room,  placing  him  upon  the  bed  as  he 
was,  for  the  night.  The  sitting-room  had  not 
been  used  for  days  for  there  were  so  many 
windows  and  the  Turks  on  the  mountains 
just  opposite  could  fire  in.  The  refugees 
had  quieted  themselves  for  the  night  and  be¬ 
ing  careful  not  to  disturb  them  we  quietly 
locked  the  door,  for  bullets  could  no  longer 
disturb  his  rest. 

With  heavy  hearts  we  began  our  duties  on 
Friday  morning,  April  23,  1909.  We  must 
prepare  the  body  of  the  dead  before  the 
family  is  allowed  to  see  the  beloved  father. 
All  day  he  had  lain  in  the  dusty  road  under 
the  hot  sun,  with  arms  thrown  up  and  eyes 
unclosed  and  in  his  bloody  garments  as  if 
there  were  none  to  pity.  With  great  diffi¬ 
culty  we  concealed  the  evidences  that  he  had 
been  so  brutally  murdered  and  as  we  closed 
his  eyes  and  folded  his  hands,  that  ghastly 
expression  was  transformed  to  a  look  of 
sweet  repose. 

He  who  had  been  our  main  standby  only  a 
few  hours  before  was  at  rest  with  the  Lord. 

The  family  and  friends  entered  the  room 
and  a  little  later  as  the  family  gathered  about 


THE  MISSIONARY  GRAVEYARD 
i  Adeline  Brunk’s  grave.  2  Mrs.  Maurer’s  grave. 

Miss  Tschumi,  Miss  Honk,  Rev.  Maurer,  Rose  Lambert,  Rev.  Lambert. 


55 


Approaching  Doom 

the  grave,  facing  the  bullets,  the  teacher  read 
the  Scripture  lesson,  the  orphan  boys  sang  a 
hymn  and  after  offering  a  prayer  he  was 
lowered  in  the  grave  which  was  dug  in  a 
vacant  spot  beside  the  orphanage  where  he 
was  to  remain,  either  to  have  his  grave 
covered  with  the  ruins  of  Hadjin,  or  in  case 
Hadjin  was  spared,  to  be  removed  to  our  lit¬ 
tle  missionary  graveyard  on  the  mountain¬ 
side  which  was  now  entirely  in  the  possession 
of  the  Turks. 

There  were  no  ministers  left  in  our  part  of 
the  country,  neither  American  nor  Armenian, 
for  the  former  had  already  laid  down  their 
lives  and  the  latter  were  on  their  way  to  the 
conference  or  for  all  we  knew  in  Eternity. 

An  appeal  was  again  sent  to  Captain  Omar 
(acting  lieutenant-governor  in  the  judge’s 
absence)  telling  him  of  the  death  of  our 
steward  and  begging  him  to  give  us  a  few 
soldiers  for  the  protection  of  the  mission 
stations  and  also  that  he  order  the  trumpet 
blown,  for  it  might  be  the  Turks  on  the  moun¬ 
tains  would  obey  his  command. 

In  answer  he  sent  us  a  letter  expressing  his 
sorrow  to  hear  of  the  death  of  our  steward 
and  that  he  had  sent  six  soldiers  to  protect 
us  and  that  the  trumpet  had  been  blown. 

The  result  was  that  for  twenty-four  hours 


56  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

the  firing  diminished.  He  again  informed 
us  that  by  mistake  the  six  soldiers  had  gone 
to  the  American  Board  home,  but  we  assured 
him  that  we  preferred  to  have  it  so  as  that 
home  was  outside  of  the  city  limits  and  Miss 
Billings  the  only  American  in  it.  Several 
armed  Armenians  and  a  number  of  our 
largest  boys  were  constantly  on  guard  there. 

The  orphanages  and  American  Board 
school  now  sheltered  hundreds  of  refugees. 
At  the  boys'  home  one  floor  was  entirely  oc¬ 
cupied  by  them,  several  rooms  of  another 
floor  and  the  floor  where  Miss  Dorinda  Bow¬ 
man  and  I  lived  was  occupied  by  the  doctor 
of  the  municipality  who  was  a  Greek,  the 
only  druggist  Hadjin  had,  the  prelate  and 
ourselves,  but  our  large  spacious  hall  was  used 
for  a  city  hall  and  all  business  was  transacted 
there.  Although  no  place  assured  safety, 
there  were  an  unusual  amount  of  bullets  di¬ 
rected  towards  the  prelate’s  home  and  the 
city  hall,  and  the  American  flags  were  float¬ 
ing  above  our  buildings.  Moreover,  it  was 
dangerous  to  be  on  the  street  and  our  am¬ 
bassador  had  warned  us  to  keep  ourselves 
unexposed  as  much  as  possible. 

The  prelate,  city  mayor  and  city  council 
were  persuaded  that  all  telegrams  sent  by 
them  were  of  no  value,  for  all  the  Armenian 


57 


Approaching  Doom 

messages  were  discarded  and  we  could  not 
think  of  signing  our  name  to  anything  unless 
we  were  well  informed  and  persuaded  of  its 
validity.  Consequently  all  business  was 
transacted  in  our  hall  and  all  messages  bore 
our  name. 

During  the  day  we  were  kept  busy  con¬ 
sulting  and  assisting  the  prelate  as  far  as  pos¬ 
sible  in  giving  orders  to  the  men  that  occu¬ 
pied  the  last  row  of  houses  around  the  town 
and  thus  guarded  it,  for  the  village  Turks 
would  at  intervals  attack  the  town  in  several 
places  at  once,  and  then  again  would  all  unite 
their  forces  to  break  an  entrance  through  the 
ranks  if  possible. 

There  were  so  few  men  to  guard  the  town 
that  according  to  the  demand  they  were 
shifted  from  one  place  to  another,  although 
each  section  had  its  commander. 

Telegrams  were  also  prepared  to  be  sent 
at  night,  for  it  was  impossible  to  send  or  re¬ 
ceive  messages  in  the  daytime,  since  several 
villagers  were  stationed  in  a  little  mill  near 
the  telegraph  office,  their  only  duty  being  to 
shoot  any  one  who  dared  to  cross  the  yard  or 
give  the  operator  a  message. 

The  wounded  were  brought  in  at  night, 
and  the  doctor  and  druggist  cared  for  these. 
The  seriously  wounded  were  given  beds  and 


58  Hadj  in,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

the  slightly  wounded  returned  to  their  homes, 
after  having  their  wounds  dressed. 

The  druggist’s  invalid  mother  and  one  of 
the  wounded  died  in  the  orphanage  and  were 
buried  at  night,  and  in  each  of  the  three  mis¬ 
sion  compounds  there  were  a  number  of  small¬ 
pox  cases  amongst  the  refugees. 

The  crippled,  aged,  infirm  and  those  who 
had  been  bedfast  for  years,  and  in  whose  home 
some  representative  of  our  society  had  been, 
to  bring  them  the  Gospel  and  cheer,  now  sent 
in  touching  appeals  that  we  have  them 
brought  into  our  homes. 

We  knew  that  if  the  Turks  entered  and  the 
massacre  actually  began,  the  town  would  be 
set  on  fire  at  once.  What  benefit  could  there 
be  in  bringing  them  to  our  home  ?  In  it  we 
already  had  one  hundred  and  thirty  boys, 
several  hundred  women  with  their  babies  and 
little  ones,  and  also  the  seriously  wounded. 

If  the  town  burned,  our  homes  in  the  midst 
of  it  could  not  be  saved,  and  it  was  impossi¬ 
ble  for  us  to  carry  out  all  the  sick  and  help¬ 
less  that  we  were  already  responsible  for. 

We  appointed  a  number  of  reliable,  strong 
young  men  to  carry  them  into  the  church 
with  the  promise  that  in  case  of  fire  they 
would  carry  the  crippled  and  infirm  with 
them  to  the  mountains. 


59 


Approaching  Doom 

Messages  were  sent  to  the  government  at 
the  coast  to  send  the  lieutenant-governor  of 
Fekka  to  us.  Some  time  previously  he  had 
been  located  in  Had  jin  and  had  won  the  con¬ 
fidence  of  the  people,  and  being  a  Moham¬ 
medan,  although  not  a  Turk,  the  Turks  would 
trust  and  respect  him. 

The  government  ordered  him  to  come  and 
although  he  was  willing  to  do  so  the  Turks 
and  Armenians  of  Fekka  would  not  allow  it 
for  fear  of  trouble  there  in  case  he  left. 

The  Fekka  commander,  who  was  supposed 
to  be  near  Hadjin,  was  again  ordered  to  enter 
with  his  troops,  and  Hadjin  was  ordered  to 
receive  him,  but  this  mysterious  personage 
could  not  be  located  and  he  still  refused  to 
obey  the  command,  and  his  soldiers  continued 
firing  into  the  town. 

Village  Turks  and  reserves  crowded  the 
barracks. 

Another  division  of  Turkish  soldiers  from 
Fekka,  who  were  sent  to  protect  Hadjin, 
poured  over  the  mountains.  Was  the  regi¬ 
ment  expecting  to  enter  and  only  awaiting 
reinforcements?  Were  they  really  going  to 
enter  ?  In  case  they  did,  would  they  try  to 
save  the  town  or  to  find  an  excuse  to  massa¬ 
cre  the  people  ? 

While  filled  with  hopes  and  fears,  we  saw 


6o  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

that  although  they  joined  the  regiment  on 
the  mountainside  they  had  no  intentions 
of  either  entering  the  city  or  of  protecting  it, 
for  they  united  their  forces  and  fired  into  the 
town,  and  set  the  vineyard  houses  about  them 
on  fire. 

Up  to  this  time  all  the  telegrams  received 
by  Armenians  or  Americans  left  us  under  the 
impression  that  the  Turkish  officials  at  the 
coast  and  the  foreign  representatives  consid¬ 
ered  Hadjin  rebellious  and  consequently  to 
blame  for  the  present  situation,  reassuring  us 
that  the  Turkish  government  would  protect 
us  and  urging  us  to  be  brave.  At  the  same 
time  all  our  appeals  to  the  government  at 
Hadjin  for  protection  were  fruitless.  We  had 
no  way  of  knowing  that  our  messages  were 
delivered  to  our  consuls  or  that  they  knew 
of  our  perilous  condition. 

How  were  we  to  send  or  receive  messages 
hereafter?  No  one  dared  to  face  the  bullets 
nor  risk  his  life  by  crossing  the  fated  garden. 

Our  messages  were  returned  to  us  after 
having  been  taken  to  the  edge  of  the  town, 
for  although  one  dollar,  two  dollars,  and  at 
last  five  dollars,  was  offered  to  the  man  who 
was  brave  enough  to  take  them  to  the  office, 
each  one  shook  his  head  and  said,  “  Who 
would  sell  his  life  for  five  dollars  ?  ” 


Approaching  Doom  6l 

We  again  sent  the  message  to  the  ranks 
urging  that  they  manage  in  some  way  to  see 
that  the  message  left  the  town. 

As  the  call  for  a  messenger  was  again 
sounded  it  reached  the  ears  of  an  old  man 
who  had  spent  much  of  his  life  in  the  Turkish 
villages  and  whose  house  was  near  the  bar¬ 
racks.  The  Turks  had  looted  it,  even  carry¬ 
ing  away  the  iron  bars  in  the  windows  with 
them.  (All  the  windows  in  Turkey  are  barred 
with  iron  for  safety  in  the  same  manner  as 
our  prisons  in  America.) 

Mentioning  our  name  he  rushed  up  saying, 
‘‘No  one  to  take  a  message  for  them  when 
they  are  trying  to  save  the  town  ?  Fd  give 
my  life  for  them.  The  Turks  have  taken  all 
I  have  except  my  life  and  I  wish  they  would 
take  that  too.”  Thus  saying  he  took  the 
message.  But  who  would  take  our  future 
messages?  Would  he  always  be  at  hand  or 
could  no  more  messages  be  sent  ? 

It  was  midnight  and  for  once  our  business 
hall  was  almost  deserted  and  those  who  re¬ 
mained  in  the  house  had  retired.  Only  two 
men  lingered  and  we  saw  they  had  a  secret 
message  for  us  and  yet  scarcely  knew  how  to 
deliver  it.  We  withdrew  into  the  dining¬ 
room  and  they  began  the  conversation  by 
saying,  “  Have  you  received  any  news  from 


62  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

the  ministers,  or  delegates,  or  your  teacher  ? 
Have  they  arrived  at  their  destination  ?  ” 
We  answered  in  the  negative  and  urged  them 
to  tell  us  all  they  knew,  for  we  saw  they  hes¬ 
itated  and  no  one  in  the  Orient  wants  to  be 
the  44  black  messenger.”  We  had  sent  tele¬ 
grams  of  inquiry  to  Sis  and  to  Adana,  but  the 
only  answer  received  from  the  former  place 
was,  44  They  left  Sis.  No  further  information,’’ 
and  from  the  latter  place,  44  They  have  not 
arrived  and  have  no  news  from  them.” 
They  suggested  that  we  send  messages  of 
inquiry  again  but  immediately  added,  “  How 
absurd !  we  may  not  live  to  receive  the  an¬ 
swer  and  the  same  fate  awaits  us.”  One  of 
them  then  said,  14  Rumors  are  afloat  that  they 
have  all  been  brutally  massacred  at  Sigetchet, 
but  perhaps  it  is  not  true,”  he  added  as  he 
noticed  our  expression.  He  then  turned  to 
his  associate  and  said,  in  a  most  determined 
and  emphatic  way,  in  their  Armenian  dialect 
(which  missionaries  are  not  supposed  to  un¬ 
derstand),  44  It’s  true,  every  word  of  it  is  true. 
They  have  all  been  massacred.”  It  seemed 
as  if  our  blood  had  turned  cold,  but  they  did 
not  know  that  we  understood  and  so  bade  us 
good-night,  urging  that  we  hope  for  the  best. 

Upon  entering  the  bedroom  we  found  that 
the  bullets  whizzing  through  the  air  had 


Approaching  Doom  63 

awakened  our  associate.  The  Turks  were 
very  near  and  so  much  room  had  been  given 
to  the  refugees  that  we  both  occupied  our  as¬ 
sociate’s  bedroom  which  had  two  windows 
that  faced  the  mountain  from  where  the  bul¬ 
lets  were  coming.  At  first  there  was  no  fir¬ 
ing  at  night  but  now  even  darkness  gave  us 
no  rest. 

We  determined  that  as  far  as  it  lay  in  our 
power  none  of  our  associates  should  hear  of 
the  cruel  death  of  our  noble  native  workers 
until  some  days  later.  If  we  met  the  same 
fate  we  would  meet  them  in  eternity  and  if 
we  were  spared  a  later  hour  was  early 
enough,  for  our  present  circumstances  were 
sufficiently  distressing.  Bullets  were  flying 
thick  and  fast  and  as  they  whizzed  past  the 
windows  it  sounded  as  if  they  were  within  a 
few  feet  of  us.  Our  associate,  as  she  after¬ 
wards  told  us,  was  for  the  first  time  agitated 
with  fear,  but  she  covered  her  face  in  her  com¬ 
posed  and  serene  way  and  uttered  a  prayer 
to  God  for  protection,  that  His  will  might  be 
done  and  that  He  should  relieve  her  of  this 
feeling  of  terror.  He  answered  the  prayer 
and  she  fell  asleep  and  slept  until  morning. 

We  shuddered  to  think  of  the  awful  death 
our  party  had  met  with  and  what  it  would 
mean  to  the  families  of  the  pastors,  the 


64  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

churches  and  our  girls’  home.  Osonnah 
Hanum,  our  head  teacher,  had  been  with  us 
for  years  and  was  a  most  efficient  worker. 
Three  of  the  main  workers  of  our  circle  mas¬ 
sacred  within  a  week,  each  at  a  different 
place.  Only  a  few  weeks  later  a  telegram 
reached  us  informing  us  of  the  death  of  our 
associate,  Miss  Fredericka  Honk,  who  died 
on  her  way  to  America  and  was  buried  in 
the  English  cemetery  in  Alexandria,  Egypt. 

Since  the  trouble  first  began  very  little 
time  was  given  us  for  sleep  and  this  night  we 
slept  only  one  short  hour  when  a  rap  at  the 
door  awakened  us. 

Our  old  Vartevar  Agha  had  returned  with 
three  telegrams  from  the  consuls  and  ambas¬ 
sadors  and  at  their  request  we  awoke  the 
prelate  and  gathered  the  principal  men  of  the 
city,  for  they  desired  us  to  have  a  meeting, 
find  out  the  attitude  of  the  Armenians  towards 
the  government,  their  motives,  desires  and 
intentions.  The  only  desire  of  the  Armenians 
— needless  to  say — was  that  protection  be 
sent  them.  Their  intention  was  to  defend 
themselves,  if  possible,  against  the  hordes  of 
villager  Turks  who  had  surrounded  the  town 
until  help  came,  and  this  they  did  because 
they  were  obliged  to,  not  because  they  were 
in  rebellion. 


VARTAVAR  AGHA 
The  Telegram  Bearer  during  the  Massacre 


Approaching  Doom  65 

At  the  consul’s  suggestion  all  the  Arme¬ 
nians  were  now  commanded  to  do  absolutely 
no  firing  unless  the  Turks  actually  entered 
the  town. 

When  the  firing  ceased  the  Turks  came 
nearer  and  nearer  until  they  were  on  a  level 
with  us  and  only  the  narrow  little  valley  sep¬ 
arating  us.  All  the  houses  were  burned  as 
far  as  they  came  so  that  each  evening  the 
flames  that  encircled  us  came  nearer. 

The  telegram  was  ready  to  be  sent  and 
before  daylight  we  saw  that  the  new  school 
building  on  the  monastery  grounds  near 
the  barracks  was  on  fire.  As  the  flames 
mounted  higher  and  higher,  the  hearts  of  the 
people  were  moved.  Some  lamented  as 
they  thought  of  the  valuable  ancient  hand¬ 
written  volumes  of  the  Word  of  God  which 
were  treasured  there  and  of  the  hundreds  of 
dollars  they  had  denied  themselves  in  order 
to  erect  the  new  building  which  was  com¬ 
pleted  only  a  few  weeks  previous  but  never 
used.  Others  were  filled  with  indignation  at 
the  thought  that  their  large  building  should 
be  burned  while  they  were  stationed  in  the 
little  mosque  to  prevent  it  from  being  des¬ 
troyed.  As  we  stood  on  the  verandah  and 
watched  the  flames  ascend  higher  and 
higher  and  saw  those  who  caused  all  this 


66  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

disaster  running  back  to  the  barracks  again, 
the  prelate  who  was  walking  up  and  down 
the  hall  in  dejection  said  to  us,  “  This  dread¬ 
ful  experience  has  at  least  taught  us  one 
lesson  and  that  is  that  there  is  no  difference 
between  us  after  all,  whether  Protestant, 
Catholic  or  Gregorian,  we  are  all  one  and 
persecuted  because  we  love  the  name  of 
Jesus  and  worship  Him.”  That  all  these 
terror-stricken  people  might  at  this  time 
have  realized  the  blessings  pronounced  upon 
us  by  Christ  when  He  said,  “  Blessed  are  ye 
when  men  shall  reproach  you,  and  persecute 
you,  and  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you 
falsely  for  My  sake.  Rejoice  and  be  exceed¬ 
ing  glad ;  for  great  is  your  reward  in 
heaven  !  ” 

The  news  of  this  fire  was  added  to  the 
telegram  before  it  was  sent  to  the  consuls 
and  ambassadors  and  the  tone  of  the  mes¬ 
sages  received  now  changed. 

The  English  consul  at  Adana  now  de¬ 
manded  of  the  governor-general  that  a 
certain  military  officer  he  personally  knew  be 
sent  up  to  us  with  a  regiment  to  relieve  us, 
for  he  was  the  only  officer  he  could  trust  to 
do  his  duty  when  in  the  interior  and  of 
whom  it  would  be  certain  that  he  would  not 
join  the  enemies  on  the  mountains. 


Approaching  Doom  67 

News  was  telegraphed  us  that  he  was  to 
arrive  from  Messis  three  days  later,  but  we 
well  knew  that  horsemen  could  cover  that 
distance  in  three  days  only  and  that  the 
regiment  could  not  march  over  it  in  less 
than  five.  Before  this  message  reached  us, 
the  Turks  on  the  mountains  knew  of  it  and 
by  their  exasperated  efforts  proved  to  us  that 
if  it  was  in  their  power  there  would  be  no 
one  left  to  be  rescued  when  the  regiment  did 
arrive  and  we  knew  that  in  massacres  it  was 
so  often  the  case  that  the  regiment  arrives  in 
time  only  to  gather  the  few  remaining 
widows  and  orphans. 

Day  and  night  the  firing  increased  and 
towards  morning  kerosene  was  poured  over 
the  shrine  and  altar  of  the  monastery  and  it 
was  set  on  fire. 

The  wild  and  furious  flames  that  burst 
through  the  roof  could  not  devour  the  mass¬ 
ive  stone  walls  although  all  within  was 
consumed,  and  while  we  regretted  that  so 
much  should  be  turned  to  ashes  in  so  poor  a 
country  and  that  even  the  House  of  God 
was  not  spared  this  desecration,  we  were 
thankful  that  it  was  not  filled  with  refugees 
who  would  thus  meet  their  end,  as  was  the 
case,  in  so  many  other  places. 

Each  evening  Vartevar  Agha  waited  for 


68  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

the  darkness  of  the  night  to  hide  him  and 
then  he  would  creep  about  on  hands  and 
feet  and  gather  the  messages  that  the  teleg¬ 
rapher  tied  to  a  stone  and  threw  out  of  his 
window  into  the  garden. 

The  Turks  crept  nearer  and  nearer  and 
now  occupied  our  vineyard  house  which  was 
used  as  a  little  fortress.  A  number  of  Turks 
I  have  already  said  were  also  stationed  in  a 
little  mill  near  the  door  of  the  telegraph 
office,  their  only  duty  being  to  prevent  any 
messages  from  reaching  the  office.  Conse¬ 
quently  messages  could  only  be  sent  and 
received  under  cover  of  night  when  the 
Turks  in  the  mill  were  resting  and  would  not 
detect  the  dark  object  crossing  the  garden 
on  hands  and  knees  with  his  pockets  filled 
with  messages. 

The  long  week  had  ended  and  we  saw  the 
light  of  another  Sabbath.  Provisions  were 
getting  scarce  although  the  people  ate  very 
little,  slept  less  and  in  their  pale  and  terror- 
stricken  condition  looked  more  like  the 
ghosts  of  the  people  we  formerly  knew. 

The  number  of  our  refugees  increased  and 
it  is  almost  impossible  for  any  one  to  under¬ 
stand  what  even  this  little  protection  meant 
to  them.  Daily  we  went  through  the  house 
to  see  the  wounded  sufferers  and  it  was 


Approaching  Doom  69 

touching  to  see  the  look  of  pain  and  suffer¬ 
ing  mingled  with  that  of  gratitude  as  they 
insisted  that  we  come  near  enough  to  permit 
them  to  kiss  our  hands  and  in  this  way 
express  their  thanks  for  the  help  given  them. 

Amongst  the  telegrams  received  was  one 
from  the  governor-general  and  another  from 
the  governor  begging  us  to  accept  Captain 
Omar’s  wounded  son  into  our  home  and  give 
him  the  same  care  we  were  giving  the 
wounded  Armenians,  and  we  assured  them 
we  would  gladly  do  so  if  we  could  get  the 
child  into  our  possession.  Captain  Omar’s 
appeal  to  this  effect  had  not  reached  us  and 
as  the  Turks  would  not  risk  coming  through 
the  town  bringing  him  to  us,  we  begged 
old  Vartevar  Agha  to  bring  the  boy  with 
him  when  he  returned  from  the  telegraph 
office,  but  to  this  he  did  not  consent,  for  to 
him  it  seemed  that  in  case  the  little  Turk’s 
life  would  be  spared  it  only  meant  that  he 
would  grow  up  to  take  part  in  future  mas¬ 
sacres. 

After  a  time  we  were  called  out  and  there 
was  Vartevar  Agha  climbing  up  the  steps  and 
straining  every  muscle  to  get  the  captain’s 
wounded  son  into  our  possession.  This  little 
old  man  had  carried  the  fourteen-year-old 
boy  on  his  back  from  the  post-office,  which 


70  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

was  at  least  a  fifteen  minutes’  walk  up  the 
steep  streets  through  the  town  to  our  orphan¬ 
age. 

The  poor  little  fellow  was  weak,  as  he  had 
been  wounded  several  days  prior  to  this  and 
had  had  no  treatment  whatever.  He  was  as 
happy  to  be  in  our  care  as  were  the  wounded 
Armenians.  The  Armenian  shepherd  boy 
who  was  shot  through  the  leg  and  finger  oc¬ 
cupied  a  bed  in  the  same  room. 

Captain  Omar  had  buried  his  wife  a  year 
ago,  but  he  did  all  in  his  power  to  care  for 
his  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  The 
oldest  son  attended  a  military  school  in  Da¬ 
mascus  and  the  boy  who  was  now  wounded 
was  responsible  for  the  housekeeping  and 
watched  over  the  baby  sister  only  two  years 
old.  Every  spare  moment  they  spent  with 
their  father,  but  at  this  time  he  had  put  them 
in  charge  of  some  of  the  Turkish  women  who 
were  secluded  in  the  barracks  while  the  cap¬ 
tain  remained  at  his  post  in  the  government 
building,  a  part  of  which  was  the  telegraph 
office.  While  bullets  were  flying  in  every 
direction,  the  captain  threw  up  his  hands  in 
horror  as  he  looked  out  of  the  window  and 
saw  his  four  little  children  coming  across  the 
fields.  A  moment  later  he  saw  the  older  son 
drop  with  the  baby  in  his  arms.  Into  the 


Approaching  Doom  71 

midst  of  the  bullets  he  ran  and  rescued  his 
children. 

The  bullet  had  penetrated  the  left  side  of 
the  boy’s  body  just  below  the  ribs  and  there 
it  remained.  A  part  of  the  spleen  was  pro¬ 
jecting  but  the  doctor  gave  him  good  atten¬ 
tion  and  we  succeeded  in  saving  the  child 
until  the  country  was  quiet  enough  to  permit 
the  captain  to  take  his  son  to  the  hospital  for 
an  operation.  The  child  recovered  and  upon 
his  return  spent  a  day  with  us  in  the  vine¬ 
yard.  We  were  thankful  for  this  opportu¬ 
nity  of  doing  good  and  the  Turks  appreci¬ 
ated  it.1 

The  Turks  were  so  near  that  our  only  hope 
now  lay  in  allowing  the  Armenians  to  fire 
upon  them  in  case  they  persisted  in  ap¬ 
proaching  closer  and  thus  keep  them  far 
enough  away  to  prevent  them  from  setting 
fire  to  the  town. 

The  bravest  were  now  hopeless.  The 
wealthiest  women  were  dressed  in  their 
oldest  garments  so  as  to  appear  poor,  for 
they  knew  that  if  the  village  Turks  recog¬ 
nized  them  they  would  receive  the  greatest 
outrages.  Some  tried  to  persuade  us  that 
we  might  as  well  give  up,  for  it  was  only  a 

1  Since  writing  the  above  news  has  reached  us  of  the  death 
of  the  boy. 


72  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

question  of  time  and  whether  we  would  die 
to-day  or  to-morrow  and  it  seemed  impossi¬ 
ble  for  them  to  bear  the  strain  any  longer  or 
to  keep  the  Turks  out  of  town.  Monday 
evening  came  at  last.  It  was  rather  a  quiet 
evening  but  suddenly  we  saw  that  the  thing 
we  feared  had  come  upon  us,  the  dreadful 
blow  had  fallen,  and  the  city  was  burning. 
Had  the  Turks  entered  and  were  they  actu¬ 
ally  massacring  at  that  very  hour?  Was 
the  fire  in  the  midst  of  the  city  or  at  the  edge 
of  it?  We  remembered  the  fire  that  oc¬ 
curred  but  ten  years  before  and  which,  even 
while  the  whole  city  was  busy  extinguishing, 
yet  destroyed  one  hundred  houses,  for  it 
must  be  remembered  most  of  the  houses  are 
very  small  and  attached  to  each  other.  The 
water  then  had  been  carried  by  women  in 
jars.  A  messenger  brought  us  word  that 
the  three  houses  at  the  corner  of  the  city 
nearest  the  telegraph  office  were  burning. 
At  an  unexpected  moment  a  village  Turk, 
who  was  located  in  the  little  mill,  ran  across 
the  garden,  poured  the  kerosene  on  the  large 
wooden  door,  put  a  match  to  it,  returned  to 
the  mill  and  was  ready  to'  waste  his  ammuni¬ 
tion  by  shooting  at  a  shadow  rather  than  to 
run  the  risk  of  allowing  any  one  to  put  out 
the  fire. 


MAP  OF  ASIA  MINOR 


Approaching  Doom  73 

But,  providentially,  the  town  had  not  been 
entered.  The  guards  considered  it  unsafe  to 
occupy  those  houses  as  they  were  so  near  the 
government  buildings,  but  thought  they  could 
protect  them  from  the  rear. 

We  watched  the  flames  ascending  until  the 
mountains  formed  a  glowing  background  and 
knew  that  very  probably  a  day  later  our  ashes 
would  be  blown  over  the  mountains  or  per¬ 
haps,  what  was  worse. 

But  a  strong  wind  arose  and  blew  down 
the  valley,  and  we  found  the  flames  were 
driven  away  from  the  city.  A  few  moments 
more  and  we  could  see  by  the  dense  smoke 
that  the  walls  gave  away  and  the  roof  fell  in. 
We  expected  to  see  the  flames  rise  higher 
than  before  as  the  plentiful  timber  in  the  roof 
would  catch  fire  and  would  then  set  other 
houses  aflame.  We  watched  and  waited  al¬ 
most  breathlessly  but — needlessly.  The  roof 
had  put  out  the  fire  !  Our  hearts  were  reas¬ 
sured  and  God’s  promise  made  so  real  to  us 
as  we  remembered  how  He  had  said,  “  I,  Je¬ 
hovah  thy  God,  will  hold  thy  right  hand, 
saying  unto  thee,  Fear  not ;  I  will  help  thee.” 

For  the  first  time  a  great  desire  arose  in 
our  hearts  that  we  might  tell  the  world  of  this 
suffering,  wickedness  and  injustice. 

The  hope  of  the  people  was  gone  and  one 


74  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

after  another  made  their  wills  and  handed  us 
their  money  and  valuables. 

Of  course  the  stores  and  all  they  contained 
would  be  destroyed  but  they  well  knew  that 
the  men  were  the  first  to  fall  beneath  the 
sword  and  they  thought  that  if  any  one  es¬ 
caped  it  would  be  the  missionaries. 

One  after  another  requested  us  that  if  his 
wife  or  his  child  should  remain  alive,  that  we 
give  them  the  possessions  he  handed  us  so 
they  need  not  beg,  and  in  case  none  of  the 
family  remained  to  then  send  it  to  the  rela¬ 
tive  in  a  foreign  land.  Others  begged  us 
not  to  allow  their  children  to  be  homeless  or¬ 
phans  on  the  streets  in  case  both  father  and 
mother  were  killed. 

The  women  and  children  who  were  refugees 
on  the  first  floor  of  the  orphanage  refused  to 
remain  there  and  crowded  up  into  the  busi¬ 
ness  hall.  It  was  so  crowded  one  could 
scarcely  move  and  the  messages  were  being 
delayed.  Although  sent  down  repeatedly 
they  again  returned  and  refused  to  let  us  get 
out  of  sight.  We  finally  questioned  them,  for 
we  knew  there  must  be  some  reason  and  they 
said,  “  We  have  heard  that  the  American 
Board  buildings  outside  of  the  city  have 
been  offered  you  and  the  orphans  and  we  are 
afraid  you  will  leave  us.” 


x 

W  ^ 

sc? 

1  cfl 

oo 

^  (M 

w 

X 

H 


i <  <u 

O  g» 

«  c 

[x  ^ 

^  u 

O 

Q  'to 

<  Id 

ffim 


75 


Approaching  Doom 

We  assured  them  we  would  not  leave  them. 
They  said,  “  If  you  do  we  had  better  go  to 
our  homes  or  the  Turks  will  burn  the  orphan¬ 
age  and  all  of  us  and  there  will  be  no  possi¬ 
bility  of  escape.”  We  reassured  them  that 
we  would  not  leave  them  but  would  do  all  in 
our  power  to  help  protect  them.  They  again 
questioned,  “  But  if  the  town  actually  burns 
and  the  massacre  begins  will  you  not  leave 
us  then  ?  ”  We  answered,  “  If  the  blood  of 
twenty  thousand  innocent  Armenians  is  shed 
it  will  make  very  little  difference  if  the  blood 
of  an  American  is  mingled  with  it.”  How 
could  one  think  of  deserting  them  at  such  a 
time,  especially  when  our  presence  gave  a 
chance  of  saving  them  ?  They  believed  our 
word  and  went  to  their  quarters. 

We  now  had  reasons  to  believe  that  the 
object  of  the  Turks  that  surrounded  the  city 
was  to  get  the  Americans  out  of  the  town 
and  if  possible  destroy  it  before  the  regi¬ 
ments  arrived,  and  we  saw  that  the  only 
chance  we  missionaries  had  of  helping  to 
save  the  town  was  to  remain  in  it. 

Two  springs  supply  the  water  for  Hadjin. 
One  of  these  had  been  cut  off,  and  strenuous 
efforts  put  forth  to  cut  off  the  supply  from 
the  other. 

The  large  white  flags  that  floated  from  the 


76  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

church-steeples  for  days  to  convince  the 
Turks  that  Hadjin  was  not  in  rebellion  but 
seeking  peace  made  no  impression  on 
them. 

Large  rocks  were  rolled  down  the  moun¬ 
tainside  which  came  crashing  through  the 
roofs  of  the  unfortunate  houses  they  struck. 
This  was  the  third  day  that  the  regiment  was 
to  be  marching  towards  us  and  was  supposed 
to  arrive. 

Memoush  Oghlou,  who  first  led  the  troops 
against  Hadjin,  crept  away  with  one  hundred 
and  fifty  of  his  men  to  attack  a  village  farther 
up  in  the  mountains,  but  heavy  firing  con¬ 
tinued  so  that  one  could  not  tell  that  a  divi¬ 
sion  had  left. 

On  Tuesday  the  27th,  no  one  could  go  to 
the  telegraph  office  as  the  villagers  were  im¬ 
mediately  surrounding  the  town  and  stand¬ 
ing  around  the  office  in  groups  and  there  was 
still  no  sign  of  the  new  regiment. 

The  Turks  on  the  mountains  were  shout¬ 
ing  to  those  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  city, 
“  Kill  the  Christians,  plunder  their  property, 
be  faithful  to  Mohammed,”  followed  by  an 
Arabic  hoot  and  yell  until  it  seemed  as  if  the 
demons  of  hell  were  turned  loose  against  us. 

Others  would  call  to  the  city  mayor,  men¬ 
tioning  him  by  name,  saying,  “  This  is  your 


77 


Approaching  Doom 

last  day.  We  are  coming  to  burn  you  and 
your  kind  with  kerosene,”  and  at  the  same 
time  swinging  the  glistening  kerosene  tins 
back  and  forth. 

Our  hopes  were  abating  as  one  after  an¬ 
other  came  to  us  in  the  most  dejected  man¬ 
ner  asking  the  questions,  “  Do  you  still  think 
the  telegrams  to  the  consuls  and  ambassadors 
left  the  town  and  that  they  know  of  our  con¬ 
dition  ? ”  “Do  you  really  believe  that  the 
new  regiment  will  come  or  do  you  think  they 
have  joined  the  former  regiment  and  are  in¬ 
tent  upon  destroying  all  of  us  ?  ”  All  we 
could  answer  was,  “We  do  not  know,”  and 
began  to  fear  that  our  hopes  had  been  in 
vain.  Our  only  hope  was  in  God.  If  help 
was  to  reach  us  He  must  bring  it  to  pass. 
We  could  only  “  stand  still  and  see  the  sal¬ 
vation  of  the  Lord.” 

Firing  this  day  and  night  exceeded  any¬ 
thing  we  had  yet  experienced,  although  the 
Armenians  replied  only  by  an  occasional 
shot.  For  some  days  the  Martini  rifles  taken 
from  the  soldiers  on  the  19th  were  carried 
around  the  city  and  fired  off  occasionally 
from  various  points  to  give  the  impression  to 
the  foe  that  there  were  many  of  these  rifles  in 
the  town  so  that  they  would  fear  to  enter. 
When  they  did  fire  they  were  forbidden  to 


78  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

aim  at  a  Turk  unless  they  were  actually  break¬ 
ing  the  ranks. 

This  may  be  thought  strange,  but  we  all 
knew  well  that  in  case  the  town  was  saved 
the  Armenian  punishments  would  be  too 
severe  to  bear  as  it  was,  and  the  death  of 
every  Turk  would  only  increase  their  own 
woe.  All  they  could  do  was  to  try  to  hold 
out  until  help  came ;  moreover,  the  consul 
and  the  governor  both  strongly  advised  Had¬ 
jin  to  keep  on  the  defensive  only. 

On  Wednesday  the  only  messenger  who 
could  go  to  the  telegraph  office  was  one  of 
the  six  soldiers  who  was  stationed  at  the 
American  Board  school.  He  found  the  office 
deserted,  and  so  went  to  the  barracks  and 
found  the  operator  there.  It  was  reported 
that  the  Turks  sent  a  message  to  the  officers 
at  the  coast  saying  that  the  Armenians  were 
cutting  the  wires  and  that  they  had  set  fire 
to  the  government  buildings  which  were  now 
aflame,  and  that  the  officers  were  obliged  to 
flee  for  their  lives.  Flee  they  did,  but  before 
the  village  Turks  could  succeed  in  carrying 
out  their  purpose,  accusing  the  Armenians  of 
the  deed  mentioned  above,  a  letter  was  re¬ 
ceived  from  the  military  officer  of  the  new 
regiment,  which  was  addressed  to  the  prelate. 

The  officer  informed  Hadjin  that  he  arrived 


LUTFI  BEY  AND  A  FEW  OF  HIS  SOLDIERS  WHO  CAME  TO  OUR  RESCUE 


79 


Approaching  Doom 

with  his  regiment  late  the  evening  before,  and 
that  they  camped  in  the  Americans’  vineyard 
that  night.  They  had  come  to  save  the  town 
and  its  inhabitants,  and  were  awaiting  news 
from  them  as  to  where  they  were  to  enter,  as¬ 
suring  them  of  protection.  A  former  letter 
had  been  sent  by  way  of  the  government 
building,  but  it  was  not  allowed  to  be 
handed  to  the  Armenians,  and  secretly  des¬ 
troyed,  but  this  officer  was  too  wise  to  be¬ 
lieve  that  Hadjin  had  refused  to  accept  his 
message  and  so  sent  another  by  way  of  the 
American  Board  school,  which  was  brought 
to  us. 

The  prelate  and  a  number  of  men  went  to 
meet  them  and  soon  the  regiment  was  seen 
marching  down  the  mountain,  over  the  bridge 
into  the  city.  Every  one  awaited  their  doom, 
but  as  the  military  officer  and  prelate  rode 
through  the  town,  confidence  was  partly 
restored,  and  a  crowd  of  men  and  boys  fol¬ 
lowed  them  through  the  streets,  shouting  for 
joy  while  others  were  weeping. 

The  shutters  were  opened  and  once  again 
hope  came  into  their  lives.  The  procession 
marched  into  the  church  and  after  a  thanks¬ 
giving  service,  called  on  us,  assuring  us  that 
they  were  at  our  service,  that  the  danger  was 
over  and  that  we  had  a  new  sultan. 


80  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

Ten  soldiers  were  stationed  at  each  Ameri¬ 
can  home  while  others  were  sent  out  to  see 
if  there  were  any  Turks  left  on  the  mountains. 
One  captain  after  another  came  to  report  to 
the  chief  officer,  saying  there  were  none  left 
anywhere,  for  all  had  gone  to  their  homes. 

He  told  us  that  although  they  camped  so 
near  the  village  Turks  on  the  mountains,  the 
villagers  were  so  intent  upon  destroying  the 
town  that  none  even  saw  the  new  regiment 
march  up,  and  were  taken  by  surprise  when 
ordered  by  the  regiment  to  disperse. 

The  operator  with  several  Turkish  officers 
called  to  pay  his  respects  and  to  congratulate 
us  that  our  troubles  were  over.  He  told  us 
that  the  Turks  had  cut  the  telegraph  wires 
and  that  he  went  out  to  them  to  repair  the 
wires.  Before  leaving  he  also  stated  that 
there  were  only  three  officers,  of  which  he  and 
Captain  Omar  were  two,  who  remained  in  the 
government  building  until  the  villagers  drove 
them  out,  and  then  they  were  obliged  to  flee. 

Captain  Omar  with  his  children  came  to 
visit  his  son  daily  and  was  much  pleased  with 
the  care  we  had  given  him. 

For  some  time  the  commanding  officer  sent 
a  captain  daily  to  see  how  we  were  faring, 
and  himself  called  once  a  week  for  several 
months. 


8i 


Approaching  Doom 

For  a  week  or  more  the  Armenians  were 
busy  preparing  banquets  for  the  officers  of 
the  new  regiment,  and  there  was  great  re¬ 
joicing. 

Large  numbers  of  soldiers  were  stationed 
in  various  parts  of  the  town  as  well  as  all 
about  the  city,  in  camps  on  the  mountains. 
The  barracks  and  monastery  were  also  filled 
and  we  could  only  hope  that  the  soldiers 
would  not  be  able  to  invent  some  cause  for 
starting  a  massacre. 

After  some  days  the  town  was  placed  under 
court  martial  law  and  a  number  of  the  prin¬ 
cipal  village  Turks  were  called  to  give  an  ac¬ 
count  of  their  deeds.  After  giving  them  a 
little  advice  they  were  sent  home  again  and 
pardoned. 

The  Moslem  Hoja  (religious  head)  of  the 
neighboring  Turkish  village,  very  near  the 
khan  nearest  Hadjin  (where  the  cats  walk 
through  the  cracks  of  the  partition),  was 
called  to  give  an  account  of  himself  for 
ordering  the  villagers  to  kill  the  Armenian 
innkeeper  and  a  man  from  Hadjin  who  was 
with  him  at  that  time.  For  at  the  Hoja’s 
command  Sahag  Soghanahan  was  brutally 
massacred.  After  his  eyes  were  dug  out  he 
was  cut  to  pieces  inch  by  inch.  The  Hoja 
said  he  had  heard  that  the  Armenians  of 


82  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres' 

Hadjin  had  killed  the  resident  Turks  and  so 
they  wanted  revenge.  The  prelate  was 
asked  to  give  the  Hoja  counsel  after  which 
the  officer  kissed  his  holy  Mohammedan 
whiskers  and  sent  him  home  without  any 
penalty  or  fine. 

The  Turks  repeatedly  testified  to  the  fact 
that  Memoush  Oghlou  had  instigated  them 
by  false  reports  until  they  thought  there  was 
nothing  else  to  do ;  but  even  Memoush 
Oghlou,  as  well  as  his  followers,  was  not  fined 
or  even  imprisoned. 

The  Hadjin  Turkish  officers  united  their 
testimonies  in  accusing  the  Armenians  of 
obliging  the  Turks  to  kiss  the  Christian 
cross,  which  of  course  was  considered  a  great 
offense,  and  that  the  only  alternative  was 
death.  This  was  proven  to  be  false  by  the 
policeman  and  Regie  Memour,  two  Moham¬ 
medans  who  chose  to  remain  in  the  town 
during  this  time,  knowing  there  was  no 
cause  to  fear  the  Armenians. 

The  chief  officer  told  us  that  when  he  was 
commanded  to  call  in  the  reserves  and  come 
and  save  Hadjin,  they  refused  to  obey  his 
call,  as  they  were  busy  murdering  and  plun¬ 
dering.  He  promised  them  they  might  des¬ 
troy  Hadjin  and  each  man  might  keep  his 
plunder.  He  soon  had  a  regiment  and  they 


Approaching  Doom  83 

marched  almost  day  and  night.  But  when 
he  neared  Hadjin  he  was  puzzled  to  know 
how  to  manage  his  regiment.  He  consulted 
a  friendly  officer  in  Fekka  and  the  two 
officers  obliged  each  soldier  to  swear  by 
Mohammed,  the  Koran  and  all  he  held  dear 
or  sacred,  that  he  would  not  begin  to 
massacre  or  plunder  until  the  chief  gave  the 
signal  and  command  ;  but  the  chief  did  not 
give  the  signal. 

The  resident  Turks  of  our  town  were  ap¬ 
pointed  to  act  as  policemen  in  gathering 
the  offending  Armenians  into  prison  and 
they  were  locked  in  until  the  prisons  were 
packed  to  such  an  extent  that  there  was  no 
space  for  them  to  lie  down  and  bedding 
was  denied  them.  Some  were  brutally 
tortured  so  as  to  extort  confessions.  This 
was  told  us  not  only  by  the  prisoners  but 
by  the  doctor  who  was  called  to  administer 
medical  aid  to  the  tortured. 

One  young  man  was  met  by  these  police¬ 
men  and  taken  to  prison.  The  prison  keeper 
said  to  them,  “  His  name  is  not  on  the  list.” 
They  answered,  “  Put  him  in  anyway  ;  it  will 
not  take  long  to  add  his  name.”  Some  were 
in  for  months  before  they  received  a  hearing 
and  daily  new  ones  were  added  to  the 
number.  Those  condemned  were  sent  in 


84  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

chains  to  the  penitentiary  where  they  were 
again  to  appear  before  a  higher  court  before 
receiving  their  final  sentence. 

Amongst  the  many  prisoners  who  were 
sent  to  the  penitentiary  were  the  city  mayor 
and  son,  the  members  of  the  city  council, 
the  men  who  were  responsible  for  the  di¬ 
visions  who  protected  the  town  until  help 
came,  the  man  who  carried  the  provisions  to 
those  ^  on  guard,  and  the  baker  who  baked 
the  bread  that  the  guard  ate. 

The  prelate  was  also  taken  a  prisoner  but 
after  months  of  imprisonment  was  again 
released  and  returned  to  Hadjin,  as  were 
also  the  majority  of  the  other  seventy  who 
had  been  sent,  but  several  are  to-day  in  the 
penitentiary  condemned  to  ten  years’  im¬ 
prisonment  for  having  taken  the  soldiers’ 
guns  when  the  party  started  with  the  judge 
to  try  and  disperse  the  Turks  who  were 
attacking  the  villages. 

Do  not  confuse  an  American  penitentiary 
with  a  Turkish  for  the  remains  of  the  crusaders’ 
castles  are  used  and  the  prisoners  are  placed 
in  these  damp  dungeons  and  receive  only 
water  and  a  piece  of  bread  daily.  No  suits 
are  furnished  them,  neither  soap,  or  even  a 
little  coal,  but  they  must  wear  the  old  suits 
they  chance  to  have  when  they  enter  the 


Approaching  Doom  85 

prison  and  there  wrapped  in  a  blanket,  they 
lie  on  the  damp  ground  floor  having  nothing 
to  do  but  to  wait  and  wait  for  the  long  years 
to  pass  till  they  can  once  again  see  the  sun¬ 
shine  on  the  hills  and  gather  their  scattered 
and  uncared-for  family  together. 


,e 


VI 

Results  of  the  Massacre 


CARCELY  had  the  regiment  arrived 


when  news  reached  us  of  the  awful 


massacre  on  the  plain.  Many  Chris¬ 
tian  villages  were  completely  wiped  out  and 
not  one  Armenian  left  alive.  Where  there 
was  a  mixed  population  the  Armenian 
quarter  was  usually  destroyed  but  here  and 
there  were  places  where  no  great  harm  was 
done  simply  because  the  officer  in  charge 
would  not  consent  to  it. 

Widows  and  orphans  by  the  hundreds 
came  flocking  back  to  Had  jin  and  the  vil¬ 
lages  about  us,  from  the  plain,  bereft  of  be¬ 
loved  ones,  many  of  whom  had  been  brutally 
massacred  before  their  ^yes.  They  were 
penniless,  ragged,  barefooted,  sick,  pale  and 
almost  beyond  recognition,  the  mothers, 
wives,  sisters  and  daughters  of  the  three 
thousand  Had  jin  men  who  had  been  massa¬ 
cred  on  the  plain. 

Nearly  all  of  these  refugees  flocked  to  the 
missionaries  and  told  us  of  the  dreadful  ex¬ 
periences  through  which  they  had  just 
passed.  Some  had  not  a  male  relative  left. 


86 


ARMENIAN  WIDOW  WITH  HER  CHILDREN 


Results  of  the  Massacre 


87 

The  effect  of  this  is  better  understood  when 
it  is  borne  in  mind  that  they  were  living  in  a 
land  where  womankind  constantly  needs  pro¬ 
tection  and  has  no  means  of  support.  In 
one  family  twenty-three  of  the  nearest  rela¬ 
tives  had  been  killed.  In  another  no  one 
but  the  infirm  grandfather  and  aged  grand¬ 
mother,  a  son  and  a  little  grandson  remained, 
although  there  had  been  thirty-two  children 
and  grandchildren  in  the  family. 

Some  were  insane  and  others  on  the  verge 
of  nervous  prostration. 

A  young  man  wounded  returned  alone,  not 
knowing  what  had  become  of  his  wife  and 
child.  It  was  later  found  that  his  wife  after 
much  wandering  had  received  shelter  in  a 
village.  The  little  one  was  found  on  the 
streets  in  another  town  with  a  number  of 
helpless  orphans,  and  friends  had  sent  it  with 
others  to  an  orphanage  in  another  part  of  the 
country.  But  this  was  only  one  of  many 
families  that  were  scattered,  and  only  time 
will  tell  whether  or  not  even  those  living  will 
again  meet. 

The  Turkish  villagers  could  not  be  recon¬ 
ciled  to  the  fact  that  Hadjin  had  been  spared 
and  as  these  frightened  widows  and  orphans 
passed  them  on  their  return  to  Hadjin  were 
heard  to  voice  their  regrets  and  shame  that 


88  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

they  could  not  even  wipe  out  Hadjin  or  de¬ 
ride  this  idea  of  a  massacre  when  the  ghavurs 
(a  contemptible  name  for  Christian)  were  still 
so  numerous. 

Amongst  these  destitute  refugees  were  a 
few  of  the  wives  and  orphans  of  the  trades¬ 
men  from  Sigetchet.1  Our  hearts  were  filled 
with  sorrow  as  one  after  another  told  us  how 
they  had  witnessed  the  death  of  our  minis¬ 
ters,  delegates,  deacons,  merchants  and  the 
head  teacher  in  our  girls’  orphanage,  num¬ 
bering  seventy-six  in  all. 

After  consulting  the  governor  in  Sis  as  to 
the  safety  of  continuing  their  journey,  they 
left  the  town,  but  only  an  hour  or  two  later 
the  news  reached  the  people  of  Sis  that  the 
Christians  in  Adana  were  being  massacred 
and  that  the  town  was  in  flames. 

One  of  the  members  of  the  church  com¬ 
mittee  whose  wife  had  also  joined  the  cara¬ 
van,  immediately  sent  his  son-in-law  on 
horseback  to  inform  them  of  their  danger 
and  to  return,  but  he  overtook  them  just  after 
they  had  unloaded  in  Sigetchet  and  the 
Turks  had  already  taken  possession  of  them. 

The  messenger  was  forced  to  join  the  same 
party  and  meet  the  same  doom. 

All  were  crowded  into  the  dingy  khan  for 

1  See  page  18  for  description  of  Sigetchet. 


THE  REMAINS  OF  A  KAHN  AFTER  THE  MASSACRE 


Results  of  the  Massacre 


89 

the  night  while  the  mob  of  Turks  in  their 
frenzy  surrounded  it.  All  night  long  they 
prayed  God  to  deliver  them  from  the  hands 
of  these  bloodthirsty  enemies  and  if  not  His 
will,  then  to  prepare  them  for  the  death  that 
was  awaiting  them,  and  before  morning  our 
deacon’s  wife  had  literally  pulled  all  the  hair 
out  of  her  head  in  her  anguish.  At  last  day¬ 
light  came  and  a  Turk  came  riding  into  the 
village  at  high  speed,  his  horse  covered  with 
lather,  and  declared  that  he  had  been  to 
Adana  and  returned  during  the  night,  and 
producing  a  document  assured  the  Turks 
that  the  governor-general  had  said  that  he  had 
all  the  Christians  he  wanted  and  they  should 
dispose  of  the  party  without  sending  them 
farther. 

As  the  prisoners  were  momentarily  waiting 
and  trying  to  hope  against  hope  the  door 
opened  and  the  ruler  entered.  He  assured 
them  that  the  Mohammedans  had  no  evil  in¬ 
tentions  whatever  and  that  this  excitement 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Turks  had  no¬ 
ticed  a  few  weapons  in  their  possession.  He 
asked  them  to  give  up  these,  their  money, 
watches,  jewelry,  trunks  and  whatever  they 
possessed  into  his  keeping  and  he  would 
then  escort  them  into  his  home  where  he 
could  protect  them. 


90  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

Although  our  helpless  co-workers  doubted 
the  ruler’s  word,  there  was  no  alternative, 
and  the  members  of  the  party  at  once 
assured  the  ruler  that  he  was  welcome  to  all 
their  possessions  if  he  would  but  protect 
them.  The  mob  of  Turks  had  taken  their 
ablutions  and  were  in  the  mosque  praying 
“Allah”  to  assist  them  in  their  murderous 
plans  as  the  disarmed  Armenians  were  taken 
to  the  ruler’s  house. 

As  soon  as  their  prayers  were  finished 
they  came  to  the  one  who  had  promised  to 
give  protection.  He  opened  the  door  and 
there  stood  the  bloodthirsty  and  fanatical 
mob  armed  with  swords,  knives,  clubs,  guns 
and  axes  and  the  demonized  expression  of 
their  faces  told  a  more  shameful  story  than 
their  shrieks  and  yells  could  express.  The 
martyrs  were  disrobed,  with  the  exception  of 
one  garment.  The  pastor  of  the  First  Church 
of  Hadjin  begged  for  an  opportunity  to 
speak  to  them  and  appealed  to  their  sense  of 
justice  and  sympathy,  but  when  he  saw  it 
availed  nothing  he  appealed  to  their  fear  of 
God,  but  a  Turk  stepped  forward  and  taking 
the  pastor  by  the  beard,  led  him  forth  and 
killed  him. 

The  aged  deacon  of  Hadjin  was  next  led 
forth.  His  wife  rushed  after  him  trying  to 


Results  of  the  Massacre  91 

protect  him  but  both  were  shot  and  her  body 
fell  upon  his.  Some  were  clubbed  to  death, 
some  shot,  some  killed  with  swords  and 
some  with  axes ;  but  the  women  of  the  party, 
as  is  nearly  always  the  case,  were  reserved 
until  the  last  and  after  being  humiliated  and 
disgraced  in  the  most  unspeakable  manner, 
were  afterwards  killed. 

One  Turk  stood  at  the  door  and  killed 
sixteen  members  of  this  party  in  succession, 
when  he  finally  called  some  one  to  take  his 
place  saying  his  strength  was  exhausted. 

After  these  were  all  killed  they  turned  to 
the  Christian  tradesmen  and  their  families 
who  had  spent  each  winter  with  them  for  the 
past  twenty  years.  One  of  them  was  on  his 
knees  before  the  murderers  and  with  a  little 
son  on  each  arm  begged  that  for  God’s  sake 
they  should  not  make  his  little  boys  orphans. 
But  they  answered,  “  Drop  your  children  or 
we  will  kill  them  too.”  He  did  so  and  was 
killed  before  the  eyes  of  his  wife  and  little 
boys. 

The  shoemaker  was  finishing  a  pair  of 
shoes  for  one  of  the  Turks  and  begged  for 
his  life  saying  he  would  present  the  shoes  to 
him,  but  when  the  last  stitch  was  taken  the 
shoemaker  was  killed  by  the  owner  of  the 
shoes.  Less  than  two  dozen  of  the  smallest 


92  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

children  and  widows  were  spared  to  be 
haunted  for  life  by  the  memory  of  these 
dreadful  scenes. 

An  ox-cart  was  filled  with  these  dead 
bodies  and  the  remainder  were  dragged  out 
by  horses  and  all  were  thrown  into  the 
ditches  and  left  to  be  devoured  by  the 
jackals  and  dogs. 

No  wonder  one  of  the  missionaries  ex¬ 
claimed,  “So  great  and  hospitable  a  plain, 
and  yet  it  could  not  spare  the  ground  to 
furnish  these  martyrs  a  grave.” 

Oh !  how  these  poor  widows  longed  for 
Hadjin  and  their  homeland,  for  they  had 
heard  that  a  regiment  was  sent  to  protect  us. 
They  walked  for  days  and  entered  the  town 
footsore  and  weary,  ragged  and  hungry, 
penniless  and  homeless,  helpless  and  hope¬ 
less,  but  alas !  they  threw  up  their  hands  and 
shrieked  in  terror  as  the  first  person  they 
saw  was  the  trumpeter  and  soldiers  of  the 
new  regiment  and  they  recognized  the 
former  as  their  neighbor  who  had  killed  the 
first  sixteen  and  the  latter  as  those  who  had 
murdered  their  husbands  and  brothers. 

From  amongst  the  heaps  of  dead  bodies, 
a  pastor’s  wife,  a  tradesman  and  a  servant 
who  were  supposed  to  be  dead  regained 
consciousness  and  at  dead  of  night  crept 


Results  of  the  Massacre 


93 


away  and  after  days  of  misery  reached 
another  village  and  were  spared  to  tell  this 
tale  of  suffering. 

Ardashas,  one  of  the  young  ministers  in 
the  party,  had  been  our  interpreter  for  a  few 
years.  He  was  an  earnest  Christian  and 
entered  the  ministry  only  a  year  before  his 
death.  At  that  time  he  married  one  of  the 
high  school  teachers  in  the  American  Board 
Mission  School.  She  was  taken  into  the 
school  when  but  a  child  and  educated  by  the 
Board. 

Our  night  watch  in  the  boys’  orphanage 
was  a  cousin  to  this  young  minister. 

When  the  husband  started  for  the  confer¬ 
ence,  the  young  wife  remained  in  the  village. 
But  this  village  was  also  surrounded  by  the 
Turks  at  the  same  time  that  Hadjin  was,  and 
although  a  part  of  the  Christian  quarter  was 
burned  the  villagers  bravely  defended  them¬ 
selves. 

The  minister’s  wife  was  ill  but  her  suffering 
was  a  secondary  matter  to  her,  for  she  con¬ 
stantly  sighed,  “  Oh  !  for  some  word  from 
my  husband.”  Several  times  at  dead  of 
night  a  footman  from  the  village  arrived  to 
tell  us  of  their  distress  and  to  beg  help  from 
Hadjin  and  he  would  carry  a  few  pounds  of 
salt  back  with  him  for  the  besieged  villagers. 


94  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

Each  time  he  brought  a  letter  from  the  pas¬ 
tor’s  wife  to  the  cousin  in  our  employ  and  it 
always  contained  this  one  message,  “  My 
grief  is  unbearable.  Do  send  me  some  news 
about  my  husband.” 

Only  rumors  had  reached  us  at  this  time. 
He  would  not  be  a  “  black  messenger,”  so 
without  our  knowledge  the  cousin  gave  no 
answer  at  all  to  the  letter. 

Again  a  letter  was  received  which  the 
cousin  brought  to  us.  The  poor  wife  wrote, 
“  I  am  ill.  Our  village  is  strongly  attacked 
and  we  may  soon  all  be  destroyed  but  all 
this  is  nothing  compared  with  the  fear  for 
Ardashas.  Surely  you  can  tell  me  where  he 
is.  Pity  me  in  my  misery  and  send  me  an 
answer.  Oh  !  for  some  news  about  my  hus¬ 
band.” 

We  begged  him  to  tell  her  that  we  could 
not  locate  the  party  but  that  we  had  traced 
them  as  far  as  the  Turkish  village  Sigetchet, 
but  after  this  letter  reached  the  village  the 
mother-in-law  withheld  it  from  the  sorrowful 
wife,  fearing  she  was  too  ill  to  bear  the  news. 
All  this  time,  of  course,  she  had  already  been 
a  widow. 

As  soon  as  possible  she  was  brought  to 
Hadjin  and  at  once  requested  to  see  us. 
Never  can  we  forget  the  sight  of  the  poor, 


Results  of  the  Massacre  95 

pale,  grief-stricken  and  suffering  little  woman 
as  she  threw  herself  into  our  arms  and  em¬ 
braced  us  and  amid  tears  said,  “  God  has  at 
least  answered  this  prayer  of  mine,  for  after  I 
knew  I  should  never  see  my  dear  husband 
again,  I  then  begged  Him  that  in  some  way 
He  should  bring  me  to  the  missionaries.” 

A  few  days  later  we  visited  her  again  and 
our  hearts  were  moved  with  pity  as  we  be¬ 
held  the  little  fatherless  babe  in  the  distressed 
mother’s  arms. 

The  sight  of  her  as  she  lay  vainly  trying 
to  regain  strength  and  on  one  half  of  a  peck 
of  wheat  given  her,  weekly,  by  the  govern¬ 
ment,  for  there  were  no  other  provisions  in 
the  house,  is  one  of  the  memories  of  those 
days. 

A  poor  brother  in  the  village  sent  a  horse 
telling  her  to  come  and  live  with  him. 

She  prepared  to  take  the  three  days’  jour¬ 
ney  on  horseback  across  the  mountains.  She 
had  no  food  to  take  with  her  and  knew  she 
could  get  none  on  the  way.  At  first  she  de¬ 
cided  to  go  hungry  but  afterwards  sent  one 
of  her  relatives  to  us  with  the  message, 
“Were  it  not  for  my  little  babe  I  would  say 
nothing  and  start  hungry  and  without  food, 
ready  to  die  on  the  mountains  and  forget  my 
sorrow,  but  my  conscience  reproves  me  for 


96  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

entertaining  such  a  thought  when  I  look  at 
my  helpless  babe  and  remember  it  has  no 
one  left  but  me  to  care  for  it.  I  can  tell  my 
condition  to  no  one  else.” 

We  sent  her  provisions  for  the  journey. 
She  came  to  bid  us  good-bye  and  to  thank 
us  for  the  help  given,  but  with  tears  in  our 
eyes  we  embraced  each  other  and  although 
we  could  not  express  ourselves,  we  felt  each 
other’s  grief  and  sympathy  and  thus  parted. 

During  the  two  weeks  that  Hadjin  was 
surrounded  our  Bible  woman,  Isabelle,  was 
a  constant  help  to  us  as  she  comforted  the 
people  and  gathered  them  together  that  they 
might  unite  their  prayers  to  God  for  deliver¬ 
ance.  After  the  regiment  had  arrived  and 
peace  was  partially  restored,  we  sent  a  mes¬ 
sage  inquiring  about  the  safety  of  her  parents, 
brothers  and  sisters  who  lived  in  Adana. 
The  answer  received  was,  “  The  men  were 
all  killed,  and  Martha  was  seriously  wounded 
and  is  lying  here  in  the  hospital.”  - 

The  father  who  was  in  a  village  at  the  time 
was  slain  there. 

The  younger  brother  had  returned  from 
college  for  the  Easter  vacation.  As  the  mur¬ 
derers  rushed  into  the  little  house,  the  older 
brother  was  fatally  wounded. 

They  rushed  towards  the  younger  brother 


ISABELLE,  GOING  FROM  HOUSE  TO  HOUSE 
WITH  THE  GOSPEL 


Results  of  the  Massacre 


97 


with  their  daggers,  but  Martha,  the  youngest 
sister  who  was  older  than  her  brothers,  sprang 
between  the  Turk  and  the  brother,  begging 
that  they  kill  her  instead  and  spare  one  son 
for  the  aged  mother  who  had  no  one  left  to 
care  for  her.  She  was  fatally  wounded  and 
the  younger  brother  was  killed.  Somehow 
the  mother  and  wounded  Martha  found 
refuge  with  the  missionaries  but  after  suffer¬ 
ing  for  several  months  Martha  died  as  a  re¬ 
sult  of  the  wounds. 

The  house  was  burned  and  in  it  the  old 
blind  grandmother,  the  wounded  brother  and 
the  body  of  the  student  brother.  Although 
this  news  was  heart-breaking  to  Isabelle  she 
steadfastly  looked  to  God  for  grace  to  bear 
it  and  the  Lord  strengthened  her  as  she  went 
about  from  home  to  home  speaking  words  of 
comfort  to  the  many  who  were  bereaved. 

Her  old  mother  came  to  spend  the  summer 
with  her  daughter.  She  was  so  thin  and 
weak  that  one  could  scarcely  recognize  her. 
As  she  told  us  of  her  sad  experience  she  also 
told  us  what  a  comfort  Isabelle  was  to  her. 
At  times  it  seemed  as  if  her  heart  would 
break,  but  Isabelle  would  read  a  promise  to 
her  out  of  God’s  Word  and  remind  her  mother 
of  the  fact  that  both  brothers  and  father  were 
wearing  martyrs’  crowns  and  that  God  would 


98  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

give  them  grace  to  bear  their  sorrow  cheer¬ 
fully,  for  after  all  it  would  not  be  long,  and 
then  when  Jesus  came  to  receive  His  own 
unto  Himself  they  should  be  reunited  as  a 
family  and  be  forever  with  the  Lord.  As  the 
old  mother  told  us  this  she  said,  “  Then  Is¬ 
abelle  and  I  kneel  in  prayer  and  she  prays  so 
earnestly  that  God  may  give  me  strength  to 
bear  it,  that  I  feel  sure  it  is  all  right,  and  say, 
4  Thy  will  be  done,  my  Father.’  ” 

We  praise  God  that  amongst  these  suffer¬ 
ing  ones  there  are  at  least  some  who  know 
the  source  of  comfort. 


REV.  AND  MRS.  HENRY  MAURER 


VII 


Death  of  Henry  Maurer  and  D.  M. 

Rogers 


MR.  TROWBRIDGE,  who  was  the 
only  American  or  European  to 
witness  the  killing  of  his  fellow- 
workers,  Mr.  Rogers  and  Mr.  Maurer,  gives 
a  very  graphic  account  in  his  letter  sent  to 
the  missionaries  and  friends  in  which  he  says : 

“  Firing  and  fighting  began  on  April  14th, 
between  Moslems  and  Armenians,  which  re¬ 
sulted  in  a  number  of  casualties  on  both 
sides.  By  nightfall  it  was  clear  that  incen¬ 
diaries  were  at  work,  for  several  districts  of 
the  city  were  covered  by  clouds  of  smoke, 
which  rolled  out  far  into  the  country,  where 
vineyard  and  country  houses  also  were  burn¬ 
ing. 

44  All  night  long  the  reports  of  firearms 
rang  out  from  all  sides.  .  .  .  The  next 

morning  the  conflagrations  had  spread  to 
such  an  extent  that  we  were  obliged  to  watch 
closely  the  environs  of  the  building  of  the 
girls,  school.  .  .  . 

“  A  fresh  outburst  of  smoke  near  the  girls’ 

99 


loo  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

school  showed  that  we  were  threatened 
by  fire.  The  wind  fanned  the  flames  and 
drove  them  from  house  to  house  in  our  direc¬ 
tion.  Mr.  Rogers  was  guarding  the  home  of 
Miss  Wallace  and  the  dispensary  across 
the  street  from  the  school.  It  was  clear  that 
the  large  school,  a  building  of  brick  and 
wood,  was  in  danger. 

“We  spent  the  morning  in  ripping  off  pro¬ 
jecting  woodwork  and  the  porch  posts.  It 
soon  became  evident  that  direct  efforts  to  put 
out  the  flames  must  be  undertaken.  Up  to 
that  time  no  one  had  dared  to  go  on  the 
streets  because  of  the  shooting  from  one  end 
by  Moslems  and  the  other  by  Armenians. 
Moslem  pillagers,  armed  and  in  desperate 
mood,  were  looting  the  houses  opposite  the 
buildings  on  fire. 

“  Mr.  Maurer  and  I  took  a  crowbar  and  an 
axe  and  crossed  the  street  to  destroy  the 
wooden  porches,  shutters  and  stairways  of 
the  houses  between  the  fire  and  the  girls’ 
school.  We  carried  pails  of  water,  which  we 
threw  wherever  we  saw  flames  breaking  out. 
.  .  .  No  soldiers  or  policemen  had  ap¬ 

peared  nor  had  any  pumps  or  apparatus  for 
fighting  fire  been  brought  out.  The  only 
news  we  had  of  the  soldiers  was  the  galling 
rifle  fire  from  the  minarets.  The  shooting 


Death  of  Maurer  and  Rogers  101 

apparently  was  directed  at  the  houses  where 
the  Armenians  were  resisting  by  a  return  fire. 

“  When  I  first  climbed  to  the  roofs  near  the 
flames,  armed  Moslems  appeared  on  three 
sides  within  close  range.  When  they  under¬ 
stood  that  I  was  not  firing  on  them,  but  had 
come  back  to  work  against  the  flames,  they 
lowered  their  rifles  and  assured  me  with  many 
pledges  that  I  might  go  on  unmolested. 
Then  three  Turks  appeared  at  the  windows 
of  a  house  just  across  the  street,  and  after 
assuring  me  of  my  safety  they  dropped  back 
again  to  their  work  of  plunder. 

“Back  of  that  house  in  a  well-protected 
position  was  a  turbaned  Moslem  covering 
these  looters  with  his  rifle  and  firing  fre¬ 
quently  to  protect  them.  Then  other  Mos¬ 
lems  appeared  suddenly  on  my  left,  but  per¬ 
ceiving  my  purpose  they  bade  me  feel  no 
concern. 

“  In  the  meanwhile  Mr.  Maurer,  who  had 
been  carrying  water  in  pails  from  the  yard  of 
the  girls’  school,  came  up  to  me  and  made 
use  of  a  crowbar  in  throwing  down  a  wall, 
one  side  of  which  was  burning  fiercely.  He 
worked  with  pails  of  water,  the  crowbar  and 
the  axe  for  over  an  hour.  It  seemed  that  we 
must  have  help.  We  repeatedly  begged 
some  Armenian  young  men  who  were  lurk- 


102  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

ing  around  the  street  corners,  shielded  from 
the  Moslem  fire,  to  put  away  their  arms  and 
come  and  save  the  school  building. 

“  The  real  danger  that  pressed  upon  our 
minds  was  not  the  possible  loss  of  the  build¬ 
ing,  but  the  perilous  situation  in  which  our 
American  friends,  the  hundreds  of  Christian 
refugees  and  the  eighty  schoolgirls  would 
find  themselves  in  case  the  building  burned. 

“  In  every  direction  there  was  rioting  and 
shooting.  There  was  no  refuge  except  pos¬ 
sibly  in  the  Protestant  church  some  distance 
away,  and  even  this  was  threatened  from 
three  sides  by  the  conflagration.1 

“So  we  came  back  to  the  school  and  asked 
for  volunteers.  Mr.  Rogers  came  at  once. 
He  had  been  in  Miss  Wallace’s  house  and 
did  not  know  how  close  the  fire  came.  He 
carried  water  back  three  times.  Mr.  Maurer 
was  using  the  crowbar  against  a  wall,  and  I, 
higher  up  on  the  roof,  was  pouring  water 
on  places  just  catching  fire. 

“We  had  thus  worked  a  considerable  time 
without  being  harmed  by  the  Moslems  when 
the  Armenians  at  the  other  end  of  the  street 
commenced  firing  on  the  houses  where  the 
looters  were  at  work. 

1  The  Protestant  church  mentioned  in  Mr.  Trowbridge’s  let¬ 
ter  was  also  burned. 


ADANA  AFTER  THE  MASSACRE 


.■v 


•  4 


't:- 


.  !yi(L 


>  .. 
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Death  of  Maurer  and  Rogers  103 

“Suddenly  two  shots  rang  out  not  more 
than  eight  yards  from  where  we  were  work¬ 
ing.  Mr.  Rogers,  who  was  in  the  street 
bringing  water,  was  mortally  wounded.  He 
called  to  me  by  name,  and  then  fell  in  the 
middle  of  the  street.  The  other  bullet  hit 
Mr.  Maurer  in  the  left  lung  near  the  heart, 
a  wound  which  caused  him  to  suffer  great 
pain.  The  crowbar  fell  from  his  hands.  He 
then  climbed  down  the  ladder  and  collapsed 
at  the  side  of  Mr.  Rogers. 

“  Immediately  after  these  two  shots  several 
other  bullets  from  the  Moslems  who  had  fired 
them  whizzed  past  me.  I  dropped  almost 
flat  on  the  roof  and  made  my  way  to  the  edge 
whence  I  could  see  Mr.  Maurer  climbing 
down  the  ladder  with  the  greatest  difficulty. 
I  could  also  hear  Mr.  Rogers  groaning.  My 
first  thought  was  to  help  my  two  comrades 
home  to  have  their  wounds  treated.  Conse¬ 
quently,  without  concealing  my  intention,  I 
stepped  to  the  lower  roof  and  climbed  down 
the  same  ladder  Mr.  Maurer  had  used.  It 
was  clear  that  both  men  would  have  to  be 
carried  in.  I  went  on  rapidly  to  the  school 
to  tell  Dr.  Thomas  D.  Christie  and  Mr.  Fred¬ 
erick  W.  Macallum. 

“Just  at  this  time  the  British  vice-consul  at 
Mersin,  Major  Daughty-Wylie,  arrived  with 


104  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

twenty  Turkish  soldiers  on  a  tour  of  the  city. 
They  rode  up  and  found  Mr.  Rogers  and  Mr. 
Maurer  lying  wounded  in  the  street.  The 
entire  neighborhood  was  deserted.  The  sol¬ 
diers  were  ordered  to  the  roofs  to  fire  in  sev¬ 
eral  directions,  but  by  this  time  the  murderers 
had  disappeared. 

“  Mr.  Maurer  died  a  few  minutes  later  in 
the  school  building  and  Mr.  Rogers  lived 
only  a  few  minutes  longer  than  Mr.  Maurer. 
He  did  not  regain  consciousness. 

“  Both  men  passed  peacefully  away.  They 
died  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ.” 

Space  will  not  permit  me  to  write  in  de¬ 
tail  of  the  many  who  were  crucified,  thrown 
into  the  river,  killed  with  swords  and  axes, 
burned  by  the  thousands  in  the  churches  or 
in  their  homes,  and  of  the  many  who  were 
tortured  and  killed  in  such  hideous  and  awful 
ways  that  dare  not  be  repeated,  but  it  is  esti¬ 
mated  that  in  the  vilayet  of  Adana  between 
twenty  and  thirty  thousand  were  slain  and 
months  later  the  plain  was  still  strewn  with 
their  bones.  On  our  trip  to  the  coast,  while 
resting  under  the  large  shade  trees  for  a  few 
moments,  Armenian  hands  gathered  the 
skulls  and  bones  of  their  fellow  countrymen 
and  laid  them  at  our  feet. 

The  number  of  orphans  and  widows  in 


OUR  MISSIONARIES 

(Back  Row)  Miss  Nelson,  Rev.  Barker,  Miss  N.  Lambert,  Rev.  D.  C  Eby,  Miss  A.  Bowman. 
(Front  Row)  Miss  D.  Bowman,  Mrs.  Barker,  Mrs.  D.  C.  Eby,  Miss  Tschumi, 

Baby  Evangeline  and  Ruth  Barker,  Miss  Bredemus. 


Death  of  Maurer  and  Rogers  105 

Hadjin  and  its  villages  was  increased  to  1,100 
of  the  former  and  1,043  of  the  latter  and 
amongst  them  a  number  of  our  married  or¬ 
phan  girls  and  their  babies. 

While  considerable  relief  was  given  at  the 
time,  it  takes  years  for  these  little  ones  to 
grow  up,  and  who  will  care  for  them  ? 

Oh !  the  untold  suffering  and  misery  of 
these  widows  and  orphans.  How  could  God 
look  upon  such  scenes  of  wickedness  and 
cruelty  ?  But  “  He  was  their  Saviour.  In  all 
their  affliction  He  was  afflicted,”  and  as  our 
eyes  are  opened  we  see  with  the  prophet 
Isaiah  that  “  His  visage  was  so  marred,  more 
than  any  man,  and  His  form  more  than  the 
sons  of  man,”  and  our  hearts  cry  out,  “  Lord  ! 
what  wilt  Thou  have  me  do  ?  ”  He  answers, 
“  Lovest  thou  Me?  Feed  My  lambs,  .  .  . 

tend  My  sheep,  .  .  .  feed  My  sheep.” 

By  the  help  of  the  many  Christian  friends 
the  United  Orphanage  and  Mission,  an  in¬ 
terdenominational  board,  is  doing  all  in  their 
power  to  prove  their  love  to  their  Master  in 
this  way. 

With  the  main  orphanage  in  Hadjin  and 
an  orphanage  in  Everek,  about  350  orphan 
boys  and  girls  are  being  cared  for,  educated 
and  taught  the  love  of  Jesus.  At  present  our 
circle  of  missionaries  at  these  two  stations 


/ 


lo6  Hadjin,  and  the  Armenian  Massacres 

number  ten,  and  others  are  preparing  to  go 
and  assist  in  this  great  work  while  the  gen¬ 
eral  board  at  home  is  composed  of  ministers 
who  freely  give  their  assistance  in  extending 
this  work,  the  treasurer  being  Elder  O.  B. 
Snyder,  of  1123  Water  Street,  Port  Huron, 
Mich. 


f 


